A Long Life (But One Worth Living): Chapter One
Title: A Long Life (But One Worth Living)
Author/Artist:
rumpelsnorcack
Rating: PG-13
Characters & Pairings: Rory, Amy,
Word Count: 1030 this chapter
Summary: The story of Rory's life, from meeting Amy to death.
Notes: Many thanks to the wonderful
a_phoenixdragon and
mollywheezy who have been extremely supportive through this whole process. I've been writing this on and off for a while. It's still not finished, but is getting there. Not sure how many chapters there will be, but each one is intended as a short one-shot in its own right so all can be read independently. However, they do all build together to give a picture of Rory's life, complicated timelines and all. It's all roughly chronological, but each piece doesn't necessarily exist in the same timeline as each other piece. So some are pre-reboot, some post, some exist in a universe which includes Mels, others don't.
Disclaimer: Sadly none of the characters are mine, I just enjoy hanging around in their sandbox.
The ball thumped against the wall and bounced off languidly. Rory brushed his hair off his face and walked back over to pick it up. His father kept telling him to go outside and play, but that wasn't much fun when you were alone. His parents seemed to think he had heaps of friends and would play football with them whenever he was sent out to the park. Rory didn't really have the heart to tell them that he had no friends and would kick the ball around by himself. He sighed and sent the ball thudding towards the wall again. This time it pinged off with a satisfying speed, and Rory was just raising his arms to salute himself when he heard a squawk from behind him.
'Oi, you numpty! What do you think you're doing?'
Rory spun around, startled into a blush. Ohhhhhh dear, he thought. It's Amelia Pond. She was widely considered to be slightly crazy and more than a little unstable.
'Hello,' he said awkwardly. 'Um ... I was just kicking a ball around a bit.' She stared at him accusingly, holding the ball which had left a vivid red mark on her cheek. 'It's good exercise,' he added defensively.
Amelia scowled at him. 'Why are you playing by yourself?'
'Because I wanted to,' he shot back, stung by the implied criticism in her words. She should know, better than anyone, what it was like to be a no-mates.
'Oh.' Her face fell. 'You don't want company then?'
'What? You want to play?' he stammered, slightly terrified by the idea of doing something with the mad Amelia.
'No, I want to watch. What do you think, you idiot? Of course I want to play.' She threw the ball, surprisingly hard, at him and waited. He dropped it to the ground and shuffled a pass over to her. She grabbed it with her foot and sent it flying back towards him. He was barely able to intercept it before it hit the wall.
'You're not too bad,' was his grudging assessment. She smiled at him, and for one moment he felt his heart stop. Amelia, in her natural state, was a scowling, ragamuffin of a child, but when she smiled her whole face lit up and transformed her into a startling beauty. He gaped at her for a few seconds which gave her an opening to run up and kick the ball from between his feet. Blushing, he pulled his mind back to the job and tackled her.
They passed the ball back and forth between them, and by the end of the afternoon they had formed an uneasy friendship. Rory was still unsure if he wanted to be her friend - after all, she did have that crazy imaginary friend and everyone else shunned her. Of course, everyone else shunned him as well, and behind her wild exterior Rory detected a little vulnerability. Her bravado was just a little too unstudied. Always one to take in hurt and damaged creatures, Rory couldn't help but be drawn to Amelia.
'Shall I see you tomorrow?' Rory asked, trying not to appear either too eager or too reluctant. He was conflicted about whether he wanted someone to hang out with, or wanted to run away from the weirdness he could already tell followed in Amelia's wake.
'Maybe,' she said, the scowl back on her face. 'I have stuff to do. Important stuff. But if I have time I might come by.'
Trying to pretend he wasn't hurt, Rory nodded acceptance and turned to walk away.
'Oi! Aren't you going to ask me what I'm doing?'
'I figured you didn't want me to know or else you'd have told me.'
Amelia rolled her eyes. 'You're such a weirdo, Rory,' she said, 'but I kind of like you.' She grinned at him and walked away. He thought he heard her say, 'see you tomorrow' as she disappeared, but he wasn't certain.
The next day, Rory returned to the wall. He half-hoped, half-feared that Amelia would be there too. He'd been there ten minutes and was just giving up on the idea of her coming when she panted up to him.
'My parents ... ugh, they're so annoying!' she exclaimed as she flopped down onto the grass.
'Why?'
'Oh, they want me to see another psychiatrist.' She rolled her eyes. 'They just won't believe that the raggedy doctor is real.'
'The raggedy doctor is ...?'
'He fell out of the sky in a blue box, and he promised me he'd show me the stars. Only, then he went away and never came back.' She glanced over at Rory and scowled at the look she must have caught on his face. 'I'm not mental; he is real. And he will come back for me one day!' Her voice was getting strident, and Rory winced.
'It's not that I don't believe you. It's just ... well, it does seem kind of weird, and you did just dump it on me.'
'He was funny. Weird and funny. He made me cook for him, then he made me laugh, and he sort of fixed a crack in my wall.'
Rory personally thought everyone was right and she was a bit barking, but it seemed harmless enough.
'Why do your parents want you to see a psychiatrist just because of that?' he asked. 'That seems mental itself. I mean, even if it wasn't true lots of people have imaginary friends.'
Amelia scowled at him again. 'He's not imaginary!'
Rory huffed in frustration. 'I said 'even if' not 'definitely is' so don't yell at me.'
'I don't know why. They want a perfect daughter, I guess, and I'm not very perfect.'
'I don't know,' Rory said. 'You're a bit frightening sometimes, like when you yell, but I think you're pretty cool.'
Amelia smiled at him, grabbed the ball and jumped to her feet. 'Race you to see who gets the most shots at the wall,' she called over her shoulder as she kicked the ball away from him.
Rory leaped up after her and started scuffling with her to retrieve the ball. Just like that, they were firm friends.
Prologue
Chapter Two
Author/Artist:
rumpelsnorcack
Rating: PG-13
Characters & Pairings: Rory, Amy,
Word Count: 1030 this chapter
Summary: The story of Rory's life, from meeting Amy to death.
Notes: Many thanks to the wonderful
a_phoenixdragon and
mollywheezy who have been extremely supportive through this whole process. I've been writing this on and off for a while. It's still not finished, but is getting there. Not sure how many chapters there will be, but each one is intended as a short one-shot in its own right so all can be read independently. However, they do all build together to give a picture of Rory's life, complicated timelines and all. It's all roughly chronological, but each piece doesn't necessarily exist in the same timeline as each other piece. So some are pre-reboot, some post, some exist in a universe which includes Mels, others don't.
Disclaimer: Sadly none of the characters are mine, I just enjoy hanging around in their sandbox.
The ball thumped against the wall and bounced off languidly. Rory brushed his hair off his face and walked back over to pick it up. His father kept telling him to go outside and play, but that wasn't much fun when you were alone. His parents seemed to think he had heaps of friends and would play football with them whenever he was sent out to the park. Rory didn't really have the heart to tell them that he had no friends and would kick the ball around by himself. He sighed and sent the ball thudding towards the wall again. This time it pinged off with a satisfying speed, and Rory was just raising his arms to salute himself when he heard a squawk from behind him.
'Oi, you numpty! What do you think you're doing?'
Rory spun around, startled into a blush. Ohhhhhh dear, he thought. It's Amelia Pond. She was widely considered to be slightly crazy and more than a little unstable.
'Hello,' he said awkwardly. 'Um ... I was just kicking a ball around a bit.' She stared at him accusingly, holding the ball which had left a vivid red mark on her cheek. 'It's good exercise,' he added defensively.
Amelia scowled at him. 'Why are you playing by yourself?'
'Because I wanted to,' he shot back, stung by the implied criticism in her words. She should know, better than anyone, what it was like to be a no-mates.
'Oh.' Her face fell. 'You don't want company then?'
'What? You want to play?' he stammered, slightly terrified by the idea of doing something with the mad Amelia.
'No, I want to watch. What do you think, you idiot? Of course I want to play.' She threw the ball, surprisingly hard, at him and waited. He dropped it to the ground and shuffled a pass over to her. She grabbed it with her foot and sent it flying back towards him. He was barely able to intercept it before it hit the wall.
'You're not too bad,' was his grudging assessment. She smiled at him, and for one moment he felt his heart stop. Amelia, in her natural state, was a scowling, ragamuffin of a child, but when she smiled her whole face lit up and transformed her into a startling beauty. He gaped at her for a few seconds which gave her an opening to run up and kick the ball from between his feet. Blushing, he pulled his mind back to the job and tackled her.
They passed the ball back and forth between them, and by the end of the afternoon they had formed an uneasy friendship. Rory was still unsure if he wanted to be her friend - after all, she did have that crazy imaginary friend and everyone else shunned her. Of course, everyone else shunned him as well, and behind her wild exterior Rory detected a little vulnerability. Her bravado was just a little too unstudied. Always one to take in hurt and damaged creatures, Rory couldn't help but be drawn to Amelia.
'Shall I see you tomorrow?' Rory asked, trying not to appear either too eager or too reluctant. He was conflicted about whether he wanted someone to hang out with, or wanted to run away from the weirdness he could already tell followed in Amelia's wake.
'Maybe,' she said, the scowl back on her face. 'I have stuff to do. Important stuff. But if I have time I might come by.'
Trying to pretend he wasn't hurt, Rory nodded acceptance and turned to walk away.
'Oi! Aren't you going to ask me what I'm doing?'
'I figured you didn't want me to know or else you'd have told me.'
Amelia rolled her eyes. 'You're such a weirdo, Rory,' she said, 'but I kind of like you.' She grinned at him and walked away. He thought he heard her say, 'see you tomorrow' as she disappeared, but he wasn't certain.
The next day, Rory returned to the wall. He half-hoped, half-feared that Amelia would be there too. He'd been there ten minutes and was just giving up on the idea of her coming when she panted up to him.
'My parents ... ugh, they're so annoying!' she exclaimed as she flopped down onto the grass.
'Why?'
'Oh, they want me to see another psychiatrist.' She rolled her eyes. 'They just won't believe that the raggedy doctor is real.'
'The raggedy doctor is ...?'
'He fell out of the sky in a blue box, and he promised me he'd show me the stars. Only, then he went away and never came back.' She glanced over at Rory and scowled at the look she must have caught on his face. 'I'm not mental; he is real. And he will come back for me one day!' Her voice was getting strident, and Rory winced.
'It's not that I don't believe you. It's just ... well, it does seem kind of weird, and you did just dump it on me.'
'He was funny. Weird and funny. He made me cook for him, then he made me laugh, and he sort of fixed a crack in my wall.'
Rory personally thought everyone was right and she was a bit barking, but it seemed harmless enough.
'Why do your parents want you to see a psychiatrist just because of that?' he asked. 'That seems mental itself. I mean, even if it wasn't true lots of people have imaginary friends.'
Amelia scowled at him again. 'He's not imaginary!'
Rory huffed in frustration. 'I said 'even if' not 'definitely is' so don't yell at me.'
'I don't know why. They want a perfect daughter, I guess, and I'm not very perfect.'
'I don't know,' Rory said. 'You're a bit frightening sometimes, like when you yell, but I think you're pretty cool.'
Amelia smiled at him, grabbed the ball and jumped to her feet. 'Race you to see who gets the most shots at the wall,' she called over her shoulder as she kicked the ball away from him.
Rory leaped up after her and started scuffling with her to retrieve the ball. Just like that, they were firm friends.
Prologue
Chapter Two