Fic: The Other Side of Loving a Time Lord
The Other Side of Loving a Time Lord
Pairing: Five/Tegan
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Rating: PG
Word Count: 676
Summary: Tegan wakes in an empty bed and...angst ensues.
This is totally non-canon and fits in with my pup notheathrow's adventures over at brb_gallifrey. For the sake of context, this little fic takes place shortly before this.
Beta'd by the insatiable dragonessa24.
Tegan awoke to find the space next to her empty and cold. She hadn't expected it to be warm; the Doctor's skin always felt like touching cool water and never seemed to warm, no matter how long or how tightly she clung to him. The only indication he had ever been there was the slight indentation in the pillow. She blinked away the last vestiges of sleep and swallowed the sudden lump that had crept into her throat. He doesn't sleep, Tegs, she reminded herself. There's no reason for him to stay. Still, she had fallen asleep with him cradling her, holding her the way no man in her life ever had; the way only the Doctor could. Part of her had expected - even wanted - him to be there when she woke.
This was obviously going to take some getting used to.
She could feel the hot prickle of tears, and she scrunched her face to stop them from pouring over. It wasn't simply waking alone in the Doctor's bed. Some nights she woke in her own room, the outline of what was once Nyssa's bed barely visible in the dark. She felt the loneliness pressing on her then, too. She ached for her old friend; the TARDIS wasn't the same without her, as quiet as she often was. Hell, she even missed Adric and Turlough at times. The Doctor was fine company, but her heart thrived when she was surrounded by friends. Now, it was mostly silence and echoes. It was so frustrating she found her temper flaring unreasonably around the Doctor just to hear something other than the whine of the time rotor. That thought, the shame at her irrational behaviour, caused a duo of tears to escape down her cheek and soak the pillow below. She whimpered involuntarily.
The rustle of stiff paper drew her eyes across the room - there was the Doctor, reclined in a chair with a book in hand, illuminated by the soft light of a lamp. He was watching her, his gaze dark and unreadable.
"Tegan?" His voice was soft, but it carried across the silence of the room with ease.
Embarrassed, she made a vain attempt at suppressing her tears. She buried her face into the pillow; a moment later, she felt the bed shift and the cool brush of the Doctor's knuckles across her cheek. She turned her face toward him but, unable to meet his eyes, focused on the open collar of his shirt instead. She trailed her fingers across the edge of the stiff cotton, resisting the urge to sniffle and give herself away. The Doctor placed a pair of fingers under her chin, coaxing her to look at him. His eyes were wide with both confusion and concern, and she felt suddenly foolish for her burst of emotion. To her, it seemed she did little else than anger and perplex him. Nyssa never would have behaved so terribly human.
"What's the matter, hmm?" He pressed a kiss to her brow, one hand sliding around her to stroke her back softly. A shiver followed his frigid touch up her bare skin, and the Doctor pulled the covers around her as she moved to settle closer to him. She could feel his breath - the only thing remotely warm about him - stirring her hair as he contemplated what to say next. For a moment, she considered confessing her thoughts, irrational as they were. She listened to his twin heartbeats, a constant reminder that though they were lovers, there was a universe of difference between them, both biologically and emotionally. Even if she explained she wasn't certain he would understand, though she knew he would try. The thought was soothing, and she sighed, her tears dissipating.
"Nothing, just a bad dream," she murmured against him, curving her body against his through the blankets until they fit like pieces of a puzzle. There would be time for such conversations later. His presence eased the loneliness settled in her heart. For now, it was enough.
Pairing: Five/Tegan
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Rating: PG
Word Count: 676
Summary: Tegan wakes in an empty bed and...angst ensues.
This is totally non-canon and fits in with my pup notheathrow's adventures over at brb_gallifrey. For the sake of context, this little fic takes place shortly before this.
Beta'd by the insatiable dragonessa24.
Tegan awoke to find the space next to her empty and cold. She hadn't expected it to be warm; the Doctor's skin always felt like touching cool water and never seemed to warm, no matter how long or how tightly she clung to him. The only indication he had ever been there was the slight indentation in the pillow. She blinked away the last vestiges of sleep and swallowed the sudden lump that had crept into her throat. He doesn't sleep, Tegs, she reminded herself. There's no reason for him to stay. Still, she had fallen asleep with him cradling her, holding her the way no man in her life ever had; the way only the Doctor could. Part of her had expected - even wanted - him to be there when she woke.
This was obviously going to take some getting used to.
She could feel the hot prickle of tears, and she scrunched her face to stop them from pouring over. It wasn't simply waking alone in the Doctor's bed. Some nights she woke in her own room, the outline of what was once Nyssa's bed barely visible in the dark. She felt the loneliness pressing on her then, too. She ached for her old friend; the TARDIS wasn't the same without her, as quiet as she often was. Hell, she even missed Adric and Turlough at times. The Doctor was fine company, but her heart thrived when she was surrounded by friends. Now, it was mostly silence and echoes. It was so frustrating she found her temper flaring unreasonably around the Doctor just to hear something other than the whine of the time rotor. That thought, the shame at her irrational behaviour, caused a duo of tears to escape down her cheek and soak the pillow below. She whimpered involuntarily.
The rustle of stiff paper drew her eyes across the room - there was the Doctor, reclined in a chair with a book in hand, illuminated by the soft light of a lamp. He was watching her, his gaze dark and unreadable.
"Tegan?" His voice was soft, but it carried across the silence of the room with ease.
Embarrassed, she made a vain attempt at suppressing her tears. She buried her face into the pillow; a moment later, she felt the bed shift and the cool brush of the Doctor's knuckles across her cheek. She turned her face toward him but, unable to meet his eyes, focused on the open collar of his shirt instead. She trailed her fingers across the edge of the stiff cotton, resisting the urge to sniffle and give herself away. The Doctor placed a pair of fingers under her chin, coaxing her to look at him. His eyes were wide with both confusion and concern, and she felt suddenly foolish for her burst of emotion. To her, it seemed she did little else than anger and perplex him. Nyssa never would have behaved so terribly human.
"What's the matter, hmm?" He pressed a kiss to her brow, one hand sliding around her to stroke her back softly. A shiver followed his frigid touch up her bare skin, and the Doctor pulled the covers around her as she moved to settle closer to him. She could feel his breath - the only thing remotely warm about him - stirring her hair as he contemplated what to say next. For a moment, she considered confessing her thoughts, irrational as they were. She listened to his twin heartbeats, a constant reminder that though they were lovers, there was a universe of difference between them, both biologically and emotionally. Even if she explained she wasn't certain he would understand, though she knew he would try. The thought was soothing, and she sighed, her tears dissipating.
"Nothing, just a bad dream," she murmured against him, curving her body against his through the blankets until they fit like pieces of a puzzle. There would be time for such conversations later. His presence eased the loneliness settled in her heart. For now, it was enough.