Touching Time 3/7
TITLE: Touching Time
CHARACTERS: Ten/Rose, nothing but Ten/Rose
RATING: Teen (Adultish for later chapters)
SPOILERS: Up to Idiots Lantern, but very nonspecifically
SUMMARY: You want talky, angsty, witty-banter Ten? You've got him. Now with 30% more romance and UST!
DISCLAIMER: Insert humorous note about how I don't own the characters nor make any money off them right here.
BETA: The lovely and talented jaradel, but at the end of the day any errors and all silliness are entirely my fault.
A/N: A sequel to Flowers on Air. Not vital to have read that, but references are made to the action in that story.
This Chapter: A few words on the slow path, eternity, and being Human.
"What was it like, then?" The Doctor's voice came muffled through the wall while Rose had been over by the door forlornly inspecting the little pucks that were supposed to be food. It was not with that much regret that she abandoned her investigation and moved back over to sit on the bed.
"What was what like?"
"Being human. All of it, just having a normal human life."
Rose placed her forehead against the cool surface of the wall. "Not this again, Doctor. I left all that behind to be with you. I don't want to keep rehashing it every time you feel like having story hour or an ego boost about what stupid apes we all are."
"But there's something I've never really understood, so maybe you can help me here. And what, do you have something better to be doing over there? Wild party?"
Rose looked with a little longing at the video screen. "Go ahead. What's your burning question?"
"With you lot, most of you couldn't give up that normal life. The job and the family and all that. Not even for all of time and space." He paused and lowered his voice, "Especially not for all of time and space. But some of you can, and you do."
"Different strokes I guess."
"But before I come down and whisk you away, what's that life like for someone like you, or like Sarah Jane? Being so different but living that normal life."
His voice was moving around a bit and she imagined him pacing and pulling at his hair, as he did when he fixated on a problem that he could not find an immediate solution to. Rose turned sideways to the wall and put her bare feet up on to it. Toes could use a pedicure, add that to the to-do list.
"Well, it's not like I knew aliens and all that existed before, you know. I didn't even really believe you at first, but you just seemed so...I dunno. Earnest."
"I was rather, wasn't I?"
Rose giggled, "Oh you were like a stray dog that'd been kicked one time too many. I've always been an animal-lover y'see."
"Ha ha."
"So really though, most people wouldn't do this? Travel with you, I mean?"
There was a long pause. "Most people think they would, hypothetically. If you stopped your average human in the street and asked them, would you drop everything in your life here to run off with an alien and explore all of time and space? Most would say yes. But confronted with the actual option--and with me--most can't run away fast enough."
"Really?"
"Oh yeah," he said, and she noticed his voice was coming from just one spot now. "You know, I wasn't always the devilishly handsome rapscallion you see before you today."
Rose's mouth formed in to a smirk automatically. "I think you had a certain definite charm, before. A girl could quite fancy that rough and ready look. And good old Jack too. He definitely fancied you."
They sat in silence for a moment. "I'm not always quite so pleasing to the eye. When I change, it's a funny thing. I never really quite got a handle on having any control over it," the Doctor continued. "For one thing, I seem to be aging backwards. Not on purpose, you understand--it just seems to suit me. But we're not talking about me."
"We're not?"
"Well, we are, but I didn't want to."
"That's a right load of bollocks! You always want to talk about you. Or maybe you just always want to talk." Rose could not resist the opportunity to tease. She felt like she was 12 years old again, when she first felt passionately towards someone and it just came out as teasing and being horrid, because that was the only way she knew how to get a reaction.
"Not now I don't. I'm tired of talking." And he did sound tired, of something.
"Hang on, let me write this down. What's the date? Dear diary, the Doctor is tired of talking!"
"Oh, you love it." Now he was playing along as well. This was a familiar path.
"Never said I didn't," she retorted with a flirtatious lilt.
"So tell me," he said seriously again, "what was it like?"
Rose took a deep breath, apparently not able to get out of another Human Story Time. "I dunno. Now, it just seems all sort of boring and stupid. I went out with my mates, did the pub quiz, ate junk food, watched telly with mum, went to work, went out on date night. I really enjoyed all of those things though. I was never thinking, 'Gosh I wish some space alien would come down here in a blue box and ask me to see the Universe with him.' All that stuff, it was all kind of comforting, like being wrapped in cotton wool. But every now and then, sometimes I felt like I sort of went on to the outside and looked in and it was weird to see us all buying things and working so we could buy more things and, like, judging other people based on what they bought. I used to wonder what it was all about."
"And do you know now?" The Doctor's voice was soft, his most human of tones.
"No. Do you?"
"No," he said after a moment. "Do you miss it? The cotton wool?"
"Never," she answered quickly, wanting to impress upon him how entirely she had made up her mind. "I don't know how I ever could go back to that, after this."
"This sitting bored out of our skulls in little white boxes this?"
"You know what I mean. It's a cliche but as much as you sometimes drive me mad, meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me."
She could hear him grin right through the wall. "I bet you tell all the Time Lords that."
"All the ones I've met, yeah. But so far you're my favorite."
She heard him laugh to himself, a low little purring chuckle, but when he stopped it was a few moments before he picked the conversation up again. "And what about when you want to settle down?"
"I never will." This was not the first time the Doctor had tried to introduce the concept, as though he was preparing himself for the inevitable more than he was actually legitimately questioning her.
"If there's one thing a Time Lord knows," he said gravely, "it's that eternity is one hell of a long time. Don't ever say eternity is like this or like that. It'll find a way to prove you wrong."
"Like Karma?"
"No, like infinite possibility." His voice had grown darker and more serious, less human. "Every time I open the doors of the TARDIS, some new thing that I thought was impossible happens. It's why I travel. When you say that something will never ever happen, one day we'll open those doors and there it will be. And that old girl, she loves to make a liar out of me. I think she does it on purpose."
Rose's head hurt. "So, you never say something can never happen?"
"Well, that's a paradox if I ever heard one."
There was an extremely pregnant pause in the conversation. "Are you pulling on your earlobe, Doctor?" Rose asked after a while.
"What? No. I mean, yeah but....'m just thinking."
"Interesting," Rose said with finality, and left the bed to go dig her manicure kit out from her rucksack and began to remove the polish from her toe nails.
(To Chapter 4)
CHARACTERS: Ten/Rose, nothing but Ten/Rose
RATING: Teen (Adultish for later chapters)
SPOILERS: Up to Idiots Lantern, but very nonspecifically
SUMMARY: You want talky, angsty, witty-banter Ten? You've got him. Now with 30% more romance and UST!
DISCLAIMER: Insert humorous note about how I don't own the characters nor make any money off them right here.
BETA: The lovely and talented jaradel, but at the end of the day any errors and all silliness are entirely my fault.
A/N: A sequel to Flowers on Air. Not vital to have read that, but references are made to the action in that story.
This Chapter: A few words on the slow path, eternity, and being Human.
"What was it like, then?" The Doctor's voice came muffled through the wall while Rose had been over by the door forlornly inspecting the little pucks that were supposed to be food. It was not with that much regret that she abandoned her investigation and moved back over to sit on the bed.
"What was what like?"
"Being human. All of it, just having a normal human life."
Rose placed her forehead against the cool surface of the wall. "Not this again, Doctor. I left all that behind to be with you. I don't want to keep rehashing it every time you feel like having story hour or an ego boost about what stupid apes we all are."
"But there's something I've never really understood, so maybe you can help me here. And what, do you have something better to be doing over there? Wild party?"
Rose looked with a little longing at the video screen. "Go ahead. What's your burning question?"
"With you lot, most of you couldn't give up that normal life. The job and the family and all that. Not even for all of time and space." He paused and lowered his voice, "Especially not for all of time and space. But some of you can, and you do."
"Different strokes I guess."
"But before I come down and whisk you away, what's that life like for someone like you, or like Sarah Jane? Being so different but living that normal life."
His voice was moving around a bit and she imagined him pacing and pulling at his hair, as he did when he fixated on a problem that he could not find an immediate solution to. Rose turned sideways to the wall and put her bare feet up on to it. Toes could use a pedicure, add that to the to-do list.
"Well, it's not like I knew aliens and all that existed before, you know. I didn't even really believe you at first, but you just seemed so...I dunno. Earnest."
"I was rather, wasn't I?"
Rose giggled, "Oh you were like a stray dog that'd been kicked one time too many. I've always been an animal-lover y'see."
"Ha ha."
"So really though, most people wouldn't do this? Travel with you, I mean?"
There was a long pause. "Most people think they would, hypothetically. If you stopped your average human in the street and asked them, would you drop everything in your life here to run off with an alien and explore all of time and space? Most would say yes. But confronted with the actual option--and with me--most can't run away fast enough."
"Really?"
"Oh yeah," he said, and she noticed his voice was coming from just one spot now. "You know, I wasn't always the devilishly handsome rapscallion you see before you today."
Rose's mouth formed in to a smirk automatically. "I think you had a certain definite charm, before. A girl could quite fancy that rough and ready look. And good old Jack too. He definitely fancied you."
They sat in silence for a moment. "I'm not always quite so pleasing to the eye. When I change, it's a funny thing. I never really quite got a handle on having any control over it," the Doctor continued. "For one thing, I seem to be aging backwards. Not on purpose, you understand--it just seems to suit me. But we're not talking about me."
"We're not?"
"Well, we are, but I didn't want to."
"That's a right load of bollocks! You always want to talk about you. Or maybe you just always want to talk." Rose could not resist the opportunity to tease. She felt like she was 12 years old again, when she first felt passionately towards someone and it just came out as teasing and being horrid, because that was the only way she knew how to get a reaction.
"Not now I don't. I'm tired of talking." And he did sound tired, of something.
"Hang on, let me write this down. What's the date? Dear diary, the Doctor is tired of talking!"
"Oh, you love it." Now he was playing along as well. This was a familiar path.
"Never said I didn't," she retorted with a flirtatious lilt.
"So tell me," he said seriously again, "what was it like?"
Rose took a deep breath, apparently not able to get out of another Human Story Time. "I dunno. Now, it just seems all sort of boring and stupid. I went out with my mates, did the pub quiz, ate junk food, watched telly with mum, went to work, went out on date night. I really enjoyed all of those things though. I was never thinking, 'Gosh I wish some space alien would come down here in a blue box and ask me to see the Universe with him.' All that stuff, it was all kind of comforting, like being wrapped in cotton wool. But every now and then, sometimes I felt like I sort of went on to the outside and looked in and it was weird to see us all buying things and working so we could buy more things and, like, judging other people based on what they bought. I used to wonder what it was all about."
"And do you know now?" The Doctor's voice was soft, his most human of tones.
"No. Do you?"
"No," he said after a moment. "Do you miss it? The cotton wool?"
"Never," she answered quickly, wanting to impress upon him how entirely she had made up her mind. "I don't know how I ever could go back to that, after this."
"This sitting bored out of our skulls in little white boxes this?"
"You know what I mean. It's a cliche but as much as you sometimes drive me mad, meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me."
She could hear him grin right through the wall. "I bet you tell all the Time Lords that."
"All the ones I've met, yeah. But so far you're my favorite."
She heard him laugh to himself, a low little purring chuckle, but when he stopped it was a few moments before he picked the conversation up again. "And what about when you want to settle down?"
"I never will." This was not the first time the Doctor had tried to introduce the concept, as though he was preparing himself for the inevitable more than he was actually legitimately questioning her.
"If there's one thing a Time Lord knows," he said gravely, "it's that eternity is one hell of a long time. Don't ever say eternity is like this or like that. It'll find a way to prove you wrong."
"Like Karma?"
"No, like infinite possibility." His voice had grown darker and more serious, less human. "Every time I open the doors of the TARDIS, some new thing that I thought was impossible happens. It's why I travel. When you say that something will never ever happen, one day we'll open those doors and there it will be. And that old girl, she loves to make a liar out of me. I think she does it on purpose."
Rose's head hurt. "So, you never say something can never happen?"
"Well, that's a paradox if I ever heard one."
There was an extremely pregnant pause in the conversation. "Are you pulling on your earlobe, Doctor?" Rose asked after a while.
"What? No. I mean, yeah but....'m just thinking."
"Interesting," Rose said with finality, and left the bed to go dig her manicure kit out from her rucksack and began to remove the polish from her toe nails.
(To Chapter 4)