Fic: Star Dust
Title: Star Dust
Author: aibhinn
Pairing: Ten/Rose
Word Count: ~ 1000
Rating: PG
Summary: We're star dust, you and me. All of us, star dust.
Warnings: None
Author's Notes: Much love to larielromeniel, scangel72, and rabid1st for beta reading. This was originally intended for the dwliterotica September challenge, but, well, it's not exactly literotica. More like fluff. Lots of fluff. Go brush your teeth after reading, or I won't be held responsible for the cavities.
Sleeping in the TARDIS was all well and good, but Rose had discovered the Doctor rather enjoyed sleeping outside on other planets. New skies, new land, new constellations, new adventure. Generally she stayed in her bed inside the ship, unwilling to trust the safety of her sleeping self to the vagaries of alien races, but he'd assured her that this planet was entirely unpopulated and always had been. Nothing alive but completely harmless plants. And so she'd joined him for once, lying on a blanket that had been laid over the soft, springy grass, staring up into the night.
"See that star just there?" The Doctor pointed at the brightly-spangled blackness above them.
Rose raised an eyebrow. "There are five billion stars in the sky," she said dryly. "Which one do you mean?"
"Six billion, five hundred million, seven hundred nine thousand, four hundred twenty-three, actually. In this sky. A few more in yours, since you actually look sideways through the galaxy, but you can't see nearly that many from most places on Earth. Too many lights." He shifted closer to her, tucked his head next to hers to get his line-of-sight closer to her own, and pointed again. "There, just above the largest tree. Sort of on its own, a bit more black space around it. See it?"
"Yeah, I think so. Fainter than the others?" Rose squinted slightly to see if the star would brighten at all. It didn't work.
"That's the one." She heard his grin in his voice. "It's your sun."
Rose's jaw dropped open. "Really? You can see the sun from here? Earth's sun, I mean? But that means Earth can see this planet's sun as well, doesn't it?"
"Ooh, you're quick," he teased, and she elbowed him. "Ow!" he complained, rubbing his ribs. "That hurt."
"Oh, it didn't. I didn't hit you that hard. So what constellation are we in?"
"We're not. This star is too faint to be seen unless you're out in the middle of the Sahara somewhere. It doesn't even have a name; just a number."
Impulsively Rose turned onto her side, looking at the Doctor. "Let's give it one, then," she suggested. "Give it a name of its own. Won't be official or anything, but at least it'll have one."
The Doctor grinned back and tugged at her gently, encouraging her to move closer and lay her head on his shoulder. "I've always quite fancied the name George."
"We're not naming a star George," she said firmly as she curled into him.
"Martin, then."
"Absolutely not."
"Oh, you're no fun." There was a pause, then he ventured, "Nymphadora?"
She raised her head again and glared at him. "Something to do with normal star names," she insisted.
"It is! It's from Harry Potter. Nymphadora was Sirius Black's cousin, and Sirius is the name of a star." She rolled her eyes, and he added, "Besides, normal star names are alphanumeric combinations made up by your scientists. It's already got one of those."
"Well, how did your people name stars?"
He shrugged. "Alphanumeric combinations made up by our scientists. Not all that creative, but there you are."
She huffed in annoyance, but lay her head back down on his shoulder. His arm came up around her, pulling her a little closer. "Most of the famous stars are named for people in mythology, right? People or creatures?" she asked.
"Most of them," he agreed. "Named by the cultures whose mythology they belonged to."
"So, we come up with a name from British mythology. Or Celtic." She frowned, thinking back to her days in school. Most of it had been dead boring, but she'd always liked learning about ancient cultures. There had to be something there she could use.
"Not a bad idea," he allowed, and there was definitely a smile in his voice. "What myth were you thinking of using?"
"Well, I don't know many of them," she said slowly. "But what about the Arthurian legends? That's quite British, and there are lots of great names to choose from."
"Oh, I like that. Galahad? Merlin? Arthur himself? Surely not Lancelot."
"No, no," she said. "I was thinking, there aren't many stars named for women, not in comparison to the men's names. What about … Guinevere?"
"Guinevere," he said slowly, rolling the syllables over his tongue. "Very nice. Yes. That suits quite well. The star Guinevere. I'll have to remember to correct the TARDIS's data banks in the morning."
Rose smiled, snuggling a little closer to the Doctor, who squeezed gently. "'S kind of nice, innit?" she said. "Knowing that a thing that didn't have a name before, has got one now. Almost like we're a part of it, or it's a part of us."
"All the stars are a part of us, Rose," he said softly. "All the matter in the universe came from the explosion of an enormous singularity, and our planets themselves coalesced out of the remnants of supernovae. We're star dust, you and me. All of us, star dust."
"'S true," Rose said, a little startled. She hadn't thought of it that way before. "So I guess when you get right down to it, we're not all that different. Humans, aliens, we're all made out of the same stuff. The differences are just-cultural or evolutionary."
She felt his smile against her forehead as he kissed her there. "That's why I travel," he said.
"And why I travel with you." She stuck her tongue mischievously between her teeth, though she knew he couldn't see it. "But I have to admit, if we could find a few less who were trying to turn us back into star dust, I wouldn't complain."
"Oh, come on," he said playfully. "Where's your sense of adventure?"
She lifted her head once more to look down at him, but this time with an entirely different expression. "Wherever you are," she said.
He slid his other arm round her as well. "That's what I hoped you'd say."
Author: aibhinn
Pairing: Ten/Rose
Word Count: ~ 1000
Rating: PG
Summary: We're star dust, you and me. All of us, star dust.
Warnings: None
Author's Notes: Much love to larielromeniel, scangel72, and rabid1st for beta reading. This was originally intended for the dwliterotica September challenge, but, well, it's not exactly literotica. More like fluff. Lots of fluff. Go brush your teeth after reading, or I won't be held responsible for the cavities.
Sleeping in the TARDIS was all well and good, but Rose had discovered the Doctor rather enjoyed sleeping outside on other planets. New skies, new land, new constellations, new adventure. Generally she stayed in her bed inside the ship, unwilling to trust the safety of her sleeping self to the vagaries of alien races, but he'd assured her that this planet was entirely unpopulated and always had been. Nothing alive but completely harmless plants. And so she'd joined him for once, lying on a blanket that had been laid over the soft, springy grass, staring up into the night.
"See that star just there?" The Doctor pointed at the brightly-spangled blackness above them.
Rose raised an eyebrow. "There are five billion stars in the sky," she said dryly. "Which one do you mean?"
"Six billion, five hundred million, seven hundred nine thousand, four hundred twenty-three, actually. In this sky. A few more in yours, since you actually look sideways through the galaxy, but you can't see nearly that many from most places on Earth. Too many lights." He shifted closer to her, tucked his head next to hers to get his line-of-sight closer to her own, and pointed again. "There, just above the largest tree. Sort of on its own, a bit more black space around it. See it?"
"Yeah, I think so. Fainter than the others?" Rose squinted slightly to see if the star would brighten at all. It didn't work.
"That's the one." She heard his grin in his voice. "It's your sun."
Rose's jaw dropped open. "Really? You can see the sun from here? Earth's sun, I mean? But that means Earth can see this planet's sun as well, doesn't it?"
"Ooh, you're quick," he teased, and she elbowed him. "Ow!" he complained, rubbing his ribs. "That hurt."
"Oh, it didn't. I didn't hit you that hard. So what constellation are we in?"
"We're not. This star is too faint to be seen unless you're out in the middle of the Sahara somewhere. It doesn't even have a name; just a number."
Impulsively Rose turned onto her side, looking at the Doctor. "Let's give it one, then," she suggested. "Give it a name of its own. Won't be official or anything, but at least it'll have one."
The Doctor grinned back and tugged at her gently, encouraging her to move closer and lay her head on his shoulder. "I've always quite fancied the name George."
"We're not naming a star George," she said firmly as she curled into him.
"Martin, then."
"Absolutely not."
"Oh, you're no fun." There was a pause, then he ventured, "Nymphadora?"
She raised her head again and glared at him. "Something to do with normal star names," she insisted.
"It is! It's from Harry Potter. Nymphadora was Sirius Black's cousin, and Sirius is the name of a star." She rolled her eyes, and he added, "Besides, normal star names are alphanumeric combinations made up by your scientists. It's already got one of those."
"Well, how did your people name stars?"
He shrugged. "Alphanumeric combinations made up by our scientists. Not all that creative, but there you are."
She huffed in annoyance, but lay her head back down on his shoulder. His arm came up around her, pulling her a little closer. "Most of the famous stars are named for people in mythology, right? People or creatures?" she asked.
"Most of them," he agreed. "Named by the cultures whose mythology they belonged to."
"So, we come up with a name from British mythology. Or Celtic." She frowned, thinking back to her days in school. Most of it had been dead boring, but she'd always liked learning about ancient cultures. There had to be something there she could use.
"Not a bad idea," he allowed, and there was definitely a smile in his voice. "What myth were you thinking of using?"
"Well, I don't know many of them," she said slowly. "But what about the Arthurian legends? That's quite British, and there are lots of great names to choose from."
"Oh, I like that. Galahad? Merlin? Arthur himself? Surely not Lancelot."
"No, no," she said. "I was thinking, there aren't many stars named for women, not in comparison to the men's names. What about … Guinevere?"
"Guinevere," he said slowly, rolling the syllables over his tongue. "Very nice. Yes. That suits quite well. The star Guinevere. I'll have to remember to correct the TARDIS's data banks in the morning."
Rose smiled, snuggling a little closer to the Doctor, who squeezed gently. "'S kind of nice, innit?" she said. "Knowing that a thing that didn't have a name before, has got one now. Almost like we're a part of it, or it's a part of us."
"All the stars are a part of us, Rose," he said softly. "All the matter in the universe came from the explosion of an enormous singularity, and our planets themselves coalesced out of the remnants of supernovae. We're star dust, you and me. All of us, star dust."
"'S true," Rose said, a little startled. She hadn't thought of it that way before. "So I guess when you get right down to it, we're not all that different. Humans, aliens, we're all made out of the same stuff. The differences are just-cultural or evolutionary."
She felt his smile against her forehead as he kissed her there. "That's why I travel," he said.
"And why I travel with you." She stuck her tongue mischievously between her teeth, though she knew he couldn't see it. "But I have to admit, if we could find a few less who were trying to turn us back into star dust, I wouldn't complain."
"Oh, come on," he said playfully. "Where's your sense of adventure?"
She lifted her head once more to look down at him, but this time with an entirely different expression. "Wherever you are," she said.
He slid his other arm round her as well. "That's what I hoped you'd say."