Better 5/?
Title: Better 5/?
Pairing: Human Doctor/Rose, mentioning of Nine/Rose, Ten/Rose
Rating: Teen (this rating will increase later)
Timeline: After Journey's End
Summary: The Doctor is traveling on new territory - a human body with a very human single heart, no Tardis, and no time & space. But there's Rose - and all the emotions that resurface with her return. All he wants to do is be with her - but it's not going to be that easy.
Want to read it from the beginning? Start here
xoxo
Rose stepped out of the shower. Her feet, warm from the water, flat against the cold tile. She wrapped herself in a large and fluffy white towel, another in her hands rubbing the moisture out of her hair. Her mind a million miles away. Thoughts of their conversation wafted in and out of her consciousness. She knew that she was being unfair - she was too tired and heartbroken from the events of the day…was it really just a day?...to be sensible in any serious conversation.
And throughout it all, she couldn’t help feeling that tingle of happiness at seeing him there. All she had to do was stretch out her hand to touch him. All the feelings, however, that came with that touch is what terrified her. It was a union of guilt, pain, heartache and love. It appeared that there was so much more bad than good - but that’s the thing about love…it shined no matter what was thrown at it.
She patted and rubbed her hair dry with the towel that had hugged her body. Staring at herself, Rose asked herself the one question that was born on Bad Wolf Bay earlier in the day and one that continued to hover in the tendrils of thought in her mind.
Where do they go from here?
Rose knew that she would love him - it would not be difficult to love him. But would she do so on their independent account or would she simply be falling in love with a man who wore the Doctor’s face? That’s where it burned to think about it. The situation was not fair to any one of them. The Time Lord Doctor, the human Doctor and herself.
Satisfied with the dryness of her hair, Rose stepped out of her bathroom in search of some clothes. She found and stepped into plain, white cotton pants, black shorts that ended mid-thigh and a large, old and grey Torchwood t-shirt. It was when the cloth of the t-shirt touched her shoulders where she decided to take this new life with the Doctor one step at a time. He may not come with a big blue box, but she knew in her gut that he was the Doctor - only with something extra. It didn’t matter what he couldn’t do for her - take her to the edges of the universe - all that mattered is that he was there. She was going to try her hardest to not let herself sabotage anything. It would be difficult - she wasn’t a 19 year old London shop girl anymore. But she would try.
One step at a time, she told herself as she opened her bedroom door and stepped into the hallway.
Rose walked down the corridor. She could hear the rustling of plastic and trays. The smell of the take-away made her stomach growl. She stopped walking as soon as he came into view. He was taking out the trays from the plastic bag, brow furrowed and his forehead crinkled in thought. That mouth of his was stuck in a frown and it made her the pools of guilt grow at the base of her belly. She knew she had placed the frown there. The urge to run and hug him was lying underneath her skin. Her fingers flexed with the ghostly feeling of his hand in hers. Rose pushed the thoughts away as she made herself walk into the kitchen.
“Smells gorgeous,” she said, her voice in a whisper.
The Doctor turned to her and at the sight of her smile, he smiled tenderly in return.
“Just got here,” the words sounded husky in her ear making her shiver.
She turned her eyes from the boxes of food to look into his eyes. The warm brown orbs looked so deeply at her that their look made her heart skip a beat. They were standing so close and it made her want to kiss him all over again.
“Well, better eat before it gets cold, yeah?”
The Doctor smiled in response as he took the trays to the kitchen table. Rose grabbed some utensils and joined him. She sat as close as she could to him without actually interrupting his space.
They ate in comfortable silence at first. He appeared to be extremely hungry, forkful after forkful of food leaving his plate in a rapid manner. At one point, she stopped eating her own food and just looked at him. His hair was wild, and the skin around his eyes looked dark and tight - all around, he looked exhausted. She made a mental note to make sure he had the most comfortable of blankets and pillows. However, what most interested her was the fact that his whole concentration was focused on his food. The Doctor had eaten in front of her before, but it was hardly ever out of pure necessity. Rose smiled in spite of herself - she found that she enjoyed seeing him enjoy so whole-heartedly. Her smile widened.
Perhaps sensing her eyes on him, the Doctor stopped mid chew and looked up from his plate to Rose.
“What?” he asked around the food in his mouth.
Rose, unable to stop herself, giggled. The Doctor smiled at her, mouth still full of food.
“Nothin’, just…watching you. It’s interesting,” she smiled shyly at him.
He swallowed the lump of food in his mouth and continued grinning at her.
“So, Rose Tyler, talk to me.”
Her smile dimmed just a tiny bit, “About?”
“Oh, everything!” his grin was huge and suddenly the room seemed full of sunshine even though it was nighttime. Rose couldn’t help but smile back. The warmth was so infectious; she wanted to curl up in it.
She fidgeted a bit in her seat. Her eyes downcast, looking at her food; she pierced a piece of chicken with her fork. “Not sure where to start,” she whispered before raising the forkful to her mouth. The chicken was hot and spicy - she got up to get a glass of water for each of them.
“Well, at the beginning, I believe…”she heard him say as he shifted on his seat. She placed a glass to collect water from the faucet when she heard a jerk of a chair followed by an ‘ouch!’ coming from the Doctor. Rose turned around quickly, spilling water over the counter and hardwood floor.
“Doctor! What’s wrong?” she stepped towards him, her eyes roaming his body looking for what was wrong.
The Doctor stopped wincing from whatever pain he was feeling and looked at her wide-eyed. His heart - that lonely human one, Rose thought idly - in his eyes. She stared back at him befuddled at the emotion they exhibited.
“What?” it was her turn to be confused.
His mouth gaped open a bit, closed and then opened again after some hesitation, “Nothing, it was just…you called me ‘the Doctor’…it…it sounded nice.” He hid his eyes from her.
Rose’s heart faltered in it’s beating for a moment. She had called him the Doctor, but well, that’s who he was. Hadn’t she called him that before? It was then where she realized how much it meant to him…that she believe it was really him. Not knowing whether to feel guilty or appreciative of his caring so much - she mumbled an ‘oh’ and turned to find a towel to clean up the mess.
“Anyway,” he continued, his voice ringing a bit more cheerful than before, “I must have kicked your chair or something, stubbed a toe. Funny that, don’t remember stubbing a toe…radiation hopping, yes, not a stubbed toe…oh what’s this…”
She was about to ask him about the ‘radiation hopping’ as she wiped down the cupboard from where the water dribbled, when his gasp caused her to look up at him again.
He was staring incredulously at her. Her brow crinkled in bewilderment. As she stood up, she noticed that he had a book in one hand and…oh no, her bag in the other.
Oh no.
She quickly turned around to wring the wet towel and to grab their drinks.
“Rose…is this…are these…your…school books?” the pure disbelief in his voice made her turn around, instantly furious.
He was smiling so happily that it almost made her want to stop and smile with him. But she couldn’t. The disbelief in his voice…the teasing in his tone brought back all the times this one stupid ape had messed up or tried to seem more than who she was.
With a frown on her face, she walked quickly behind him, grabbed the chemistry text out of his hand and the bag out of the other. She stormed to her room, looking to set them on her desk and cool off for a bit. The door slammed as she sat on her bed instead, her pathetic books from the university tumbled out of her bag along with her notes for the next exam.
She had hoped that she wouldn’t be returning to this world. Guess now I’ll have to actually review, she thought bitterly.
Rose continued to sit near the edge of her bed, her legs drawn up so that her knees met her chest - her mind lost in an excess of thoughts. All the hunger vanished from her empty stomach.
xoxo
The Doctor’s hunger drained from his body as he watched Rose walk away from him for the second time that night. How was he ever going to earn her trust and be able to just be with her if he kept mucking things up? He couldn’t help his happy surprise at seeing university texts in her bag - she hadn’t just stopped her life waiting for him…she was making herself better!
A heavy realization dawned on him just then. Better.
Had Rose thought that he was making fun of her? It was anything but! He had been happy that she was moving on, that her interests had grown since they were separated. Memories of his Ninth self streamed through his mind, images of his yelling and teasing. Even this body had done a bit of teasing now and then. Always the superior Time Lord, he thought bitterly. His head ached from the recollections.
With a sigh, he pushed back his chair and stood up. Then the once-alien man did something he never thought he would be able to do, not really. Emotions and apologizing weren’t really his thing, after all…
He made his way down the short corridor to talk with Rose.
***
Six
Pairing: Human Doctor/Rose, mentioning of Nine/Rose, Ten/Rose
Rating: Teen (this rating will increase later)
Timeline: After Journey's End
Summary: The Doctor is traveling on new territory - a human body with a very human single heart, no Tardis, and no time & space. But there's Rose - and all the emotions that resurface with her return. All he wants to do is be with her - but it's not going to be that easy.
Want to read it from the beginning? Start here
xoxo
Rose stepped out of the shower. Her feet, warm from the water, flat against the cold tile. She wrapped herself in a large and fluffy white towel, another in her hands rubbing the moisture out of her hair. Her mind a million miles away. Thoughts of their conversation wafted in and out of her consciousness. She knew that she was being unfair - she was too tired and heartbroken from the events of the day…was it really just a day?...to be sensible in any serious conversation.
And throughout it all, she couldn’t help feeling that tingle of happiness at seeing him there. All she had to do was stretch out her hand to touch him. All the feelings, however, that came with that touch is what terrified her. It was a union of guilt, pain, heartache and love. It appeared that there was so much more bad than good - but that’s the thing about love…it shined no matter what was thrown at it.
She patted and rubbed her hair dry with the towel that had hugged her body. Staring at herself, Rose asked herself the one question that was born on Bad Wolf Bay earlier in the day and one that continued to hover in the tendrils of thought in her mind.
Where do they go from here?
Rose knew that she would love him - it would not be difficult to love him. But would she do so on their independent account or would she simply be falling in love with a man who wore the Doctor’s face? That’s where it burned to think about it. The situation was not fair to any one of them. The Time Lord Doctor, the human Doctor and herself.
Satisfied with the dryness of her hair, Rose stepped out of her bathroom in search of some clothes. She found and stepped into plain, white cotton pants, black shorts that ended mid-thigh and a large, old and grey Torchwood t-shirt. It was when the cloth of the t-shirt touched her shoulders where she decided to take this new life with the Doctor one step at a time. He may not come with a big blue box, but she knew in her gut that he was the Doctor - only with something extra. It didn’t matter what he couldn’t do for her - take her to the edges of the universe - all that mattered is that he was there. She was going to try her hardest to not let herself sabotage anything. It would be difficult - she wasn’t a 19 year old London shop girl anymore. But she would try.
One step at a time, she told herself as she opened her bedroom door and stepped into the hallway.
Rose walked down the corridor. She could hear the rustling of plastic and trays. The smell of the take-away made her stomach growl. She stopped walking as soon as he came into view. He was taking out the trays from the plastic bag, brow furrowed and his forehead crinkled in thought. That mouth of his was stuck in a frown and it made her the pools of guilt grow at the base of her belly. She knew she had placed the frown there. The urge to run and hug him was lying underneath her skin. Her fingers flexed with the ghostly feeling of his hand in hers. Rose pushed the thoughts away as she made herself walk into the kitchen.
“Smells gorgeous,” she said, her voice in a whisper.
The Doctor turned to her and at the sight of her smile, he smiled tenderly in return.
“Just got here,” the words sounded husky in her ear making her shiver.
She turned her eyes from the boxes of food to look into his eyes. The warm brown orbs looked so deeply at her that their look made her heart skip a beat. They were standing so close and it made her want to kiss him all over again.
“Well, better eat before it gets cold, yeah?”
The Doctor smiled in response as he took the trays to the kitchen table. Rose grabbed some utensils and joined him. She sat as close as she could to him without actually interrupting his space.
They ate in comfortable silence at first. He appeared to be extremely hungry, forkful after forkful of food leaving his plate in a rapid manner. At one point, she stopped eating her own food and just looked at him. His hair was wild, and the skin around his eyes looked dark and tight - all around, he looked exhausted. She made a mental note to make sure he had the most comfortable of blankets and pillows. However, what most interested her was the fact that his whole concentration was focused on his food. The Doctor had eaten in front of her before, but it was hardly ever out of pure necessity. Rose smiled in spite of herself - she found that she enjoyed seeing him enjoy so whole-heartedly. Her smile widened.
Perhaps sensing her eyes on him, the Doctor stopped mid chew and looked up from his plate to Rose.
“What?” he asked around the food in his mouth.
Rose, unable to stop herself, giggled. The Doctor smiled at her, mouth still full of food.
“Nothin’, just…watching you. It’s interesting,” she smiled shyly at him.
He swallowed the lump of food in his mouth and continued grinning at her.
“So, Rose Tyler, talk to me.”
Her smile dimmed just a tiny bit, “About?”
“Oh, everything!” his grin was huge and suddenly the room seemed full of sunshine even though it was nighttime. Rose couldn’t help but smile back. The warmth was so infectious; she wanted to curl up in it.
She fidgeted a bit in her seat. Her eyes downcast, looking at her food; she pierced a piece of chicken with her fork. “Not sure where to start,” she whispered before raising the forkful to her mouth. The chicken was hot and spicy - she got up to get a glass of water for each of them.
“Well, at the beginning, I believe…”she heard him say as he shifted on his seat. She placed a glass to collect water from the faucet when she heard a jerk of a chair followed by an ‘ouch!’ coming from the Doctor. Rose turned around quickly, spilling water over the counter and hardwood floor.
“Doctor! What’s wrong?” she stepped towards him, her eyes roaming his body looking for what was wrong.
The Doctor stopped wincing from whatever pain he was feeling and looked at her wide-eyed. His heart - that lonely human one, Rose thought idly - in his eyes. She stared back at him befuddled at the emotion they exhibited.
“What?” it was her turn to be confused.
His mouth gaped open a bit, closed and then opened again after some hesitation, “Nothing, it was just…you called me ‘the Doctor’…it…it sounded nice.” He hid his eyes from her.
Rose’s heart faltered in it’s beating for a moment. She had called him the Doctor, but well, that’s who he was. Hadn’t she called him that before? It was then where she realized how much it meant to him…that she believe it was really him. Not knowing whether to feel guilty or appreciative of his caring so much - she mumbled an ‘oh’ and turned to find a towel to clean up the mess.
“Anyway,” he continued, his voice ringing a bit more cheerful than before, “I must have kicked your chair or something, stubbed a toe. Funny that, don’t remember stubbing a toe…radiation hopping, yes, not a stubbed toe…oh what’s this…”
She was about to ask him about the ‘radiation hopping’ as she wiped down the cupboard from where the water dribbled, when his gasp caused her to look up at him again.
He was staring incredulously at her. Her brow crinkled in bewilderment. As she stood up, she noticed that he had a book in one hand and…oh no, her bag in the other.
Oh no.
She quickly turned around to wring the wet towel and to grab their drinks.
“Rose…is this…are these…your…school books?” the pure disbelief in his voice made her turn around, instantly furious.
He was smiling so happily that it almost made her want to stop and smile with him. But she couldn’t. The disbelief in his voice…the teasing in his tone brought back all the times this one stupid ape had messed up or tried to seem more than who she was.
With a frown on her face, she walked quickly behind him, grabbed the chemistry text out of his hand and the bag out of the other. She stormed to her room, looking to set them on her desk and cool off for a bit. The door slammed as she sat on her bed instead, her pathetic books from the university tumbled out of her bag along with her notes for the next exam.
She had hoped that she wouldn’t be returning to this world. Guess now I’ll have to actually review, she thought bitterly.
Rose continued to sit near the edge of her bed, her legs drawn up so that her knees met her chest - her mind lost in an excess of thoughts. All the hunger vanished from her empty stomach.
xoxo
The Doctor’s hunger drained from his body as he watched Rose walk away from him for the second time that night. How was he ever going to earn her trust and be able to just be with her if he kept mucking things up? He couldn’t help his happy surprise at seeing university texts in her bag - she hadn’t just stopped her life waiting for him…she was making herself better!
A heavy realization dawned on him just then. Better.
Had Rose thought that he was making fun of her? It was anything but! He had been happy that she was moving on, that her interests had grown since they were separated. Memories of his Ninth self streamed through his mind, images of his yelling and teasing. Even this body had done a bit of teasing now and then. Always the superior Time Lord, he thought bitterly. His head ached from the recollections.
With a sigh, he pushed back his chair and stood up. Then the once-alien man did something he never thought he would be able to do, not really. Emotions and apologizing weren’t really his thing, after all…
He made his way down the short corridor to talk with Rose.
***
Six