Tutelage - A WOTD Fic - Ten/Rose established relationship - T Rating
Tutelage - A Word of the Day Challenge Fic T-Rated Established Ten/Rose Relationship
tutelage \TOO-tuhl-ij; TYOO-\, noun:
1. The act of guarding or protecting; guardianship; protection.
2. The state of being under a guardian or tutor.
3. Instruction, especially individual instruction accompanied by close attention and guidance.
Author's note: Well I *knew* four years of studying Tai Chi would pay off eventually! I had a great teacher but I think Ten might have been more fun! *smirk*
Tutelage
He’d been surprised, to say the least, when Rose had asked him to teach her how to fight.
Whilst she’d been determined to learn something dramatic, “like the stuff they do in the films,” he had carefully steered her towards a discipline that would strengthen her body and mind.
So here they were, in one of the Tardis’ myriad empty spaces; a large, echoing practice room that he hadn’t used for lifetimes. Not since he had been perfecting his Venusian Aikido.
Rose hadn’t been impressed when the Doctor had suggested Tai Chi to her. She’d heard of it, and probably seen it at some point on one of Mickey’s Hong Kong DVD’s, but she had always associated the ‘soft’ martial arts with old people moving in slow motion and standing on one leg with an umbrella in one hand in a park in China.
She stood now, barefoot, hair tied back in a tight pony tail, wearing an old tracksuit and a sullen expression.
The Doctor took in his reluctant pupil. He too was out of his customary shirt and tie, opting for a more practical and comfortable grey T-shirt and black sweatpants. He regarded Rose with warm brown eyes and a knowing grin. “I know you want to learn Kung Fu so you can beat up the monsters wherever we meet them….” he let the remark hang until he saw the quirk of her lip and her slight nod of agreement.
“But,” his gaze hardened as she took the bait as he knew she would, “that will get you killed.”
She regarded him with a scowl and started to pace; her irritation and impatience giving an excess of energy that she needed to release. “In nine hundred-odd years you must have learned loads of martial arts and fighting styles,” she challenged.
The Doctor stood still, relaxed. He nodded. “Yes, I have,” he said mildly.
Rose kept moving, now coming towards him. “Then teach me something that works! I want to be able to fight at your side, watch your back: not just learn how to wave my arms around!”
She wasn’t sure what happened next: one moment she was a few paces away from the Doctor; alert and tense. The next she felt something like an electric shock go through her from a quick touch to her side: the room spun and she was flat on her back, the sprung floor cushioning her fall but the Doctor looking down at her with his arms crossed and a slightly superior expression. Rose gaped.
“How the hell did you do that?” she demanded as he reached down to give her a hand upright.
He couldn’t help but look smug. “I simply turned your own energy against you,” he said, grinning. “Most of the nasties we face are far bigger than us, but if you can turn their power against them, well,” the grin became a smirk, “they become pussy cats. No problem.”
Rose quirked an eyebrow. The Doctor gently laid his hands on her shoulders. “True power comes from within, Rose. You need to learn to work with your opponent’s power, not against it.” His deep gaze hardened. “Fighting against it will get you killed.” He broke eye contact, looking as if he was remembering some long forgotten pain.
Rose sighed. “Okay. Point taken. I’ll try it.”
The Doctor looked back at her with his most charming schoolboy smile. “Fantastic!”
II
Rose found the next hour exhausting, but reluctantly she admitted it was also fascinating. The Doctor demonstrated something he called the Short Form, a series of flowing, sweeping movements that he assured her he would teach her, although he claimed it took most humans many months to perfect.
“You’ve got to begin by learning how to stand,” he instructed Rose, as he straightened her spine and shoulders with sure, firm touches for the umpteenth time. “You can’t move with balance until you can stand with balance.”
”I’m trying,” said Rose through gritted teeth. She was currently standing with her feet planted directly under her knees, shoulder width apart: her left arm turned slightly to the side in front of her, palm open as if she was touching someone’s shoulder, her right arm out to the side, her fingers pinched against her thumb as if it was a little crane in an amusement arcade stuffed toy machine. Her thighs were killing her from standing in a slight crouch and her right shoulder was starting to develop shooting pains.
The Doctor finally seemed to sense her exhaustion. “Alright. Relax,” he said gently, smiling softly but eyes twinkling. “We’ll finish up today with a little philosophy lesson. Close your eyes.”
Rose did so, and felt the Doctor come up close to her. “I want you to imagine three points of light in your body,” he said softly, “three points of focus and power. One here,” she felt him gently touch the centre of her forehead, “in the centre of your brain. Your point of seeing and thinking. One here,” he touched the point above her heart, your point of feeling and emotion, and here,” he touched her gently on the stomach, slightly below her belly button. “Your centre of power and driving force. The Taoists call it your Dantien, and it’s your centre of balance.”
Rose could hear him start to slowly back away, his soft voice continuing as he paced around her. “For the rest of today I want you to concentrate on feeling yourself centred in these three internal spaces.” Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder and one on her waist, and her eyes shot open as she felt him turn and dip her. He looked deep into her eyes and winked. “Still focussed?”
Rose gulped and nodded.
“Do you like Tai Chi now?” he asked softly, mouth inches from hers.
“Oh yes,” she said, smiling widely as she closed the gap and kissed him.
He broke away with a little smirk. “We can have another Tai Chi lesson tomorrow, but, if you’re interested, I could teach you some of the Taoist Tantric disciplines tonight.”
Rose grinned. “Even though I have no idea what that is, why do I get the impression that it’s something I’m going to want to learn?”
The Doctor looked at her with a mischievous grin. “Oh yes, Rose,” he gently brought her upright and gave her another quick kiss. “I know you will.”
fin
tutelage \TOO-tuhl-ij; TYOO-\, noun:
1. The act of guarding or protecting; guardianship; protection.
2. The state of being under a guardian or tutor.
3. Instruction, especially individual instruction accompanied by close attention and guidance.
Author's note: Well I *knew* four years of studying Tai Chi would pay off eventually! I had a great teacher but I think Ten might have been more fun! *smirk*
Tutelage
He’d been surprised, to say the least, when Rose had asked him to teach her how to fight.
Whilst she’d been determined to learn something dramatic, “like the stuff they do in the films,” he had carefully steered her towards a discipline that would strengthen her body and mind.
So here they were, in one of the Tardis’ myriad empty spaces; a large, echoing practice room that he hadn’t used for lifetimes. Not since he had been perfecting his Venusian Aikido.
Rose hadn’t been impressed when the Doctor had suggested Tai Chi to her. She’d heard of it, and probably seen it at some point on one of Mickey’s Hong Kong DVD’s, but she had always associated the ‘soft’ martial arts with old people moving in slow motion and standing on one leg with an umbrella in one hand in a park in China.
She stood now, barefoot, hair tied back in a tight pony tail, wearing an old tracksuit and a sullen expression.
The Doctor took in his reluctant pupil. He too was out of his customary shirt and tie, opting for a more practical and comfortable grey T-shirt and black sweatpants. He regarded Rose with warm brown eyes and a knowing grin. “I know you want to learn Kung Fu so you can beat up the monsters wherever we meet them….” he let the remark hang until he saw the quirk of her lip and her slight nod of agreement.
“But,” his gaze hardened as she took the bait as he knew she would, “that will get you killed.”
She regarded him with a scowl and started to pace; her irritation and impatience giving an excess of energy that she needed to release. “In nine hundred-odd years you must have learned loads of martial arts and fighting styles,” she challenged.
The Doctor stood still, relaxed. He nodded. “Yes, I have,” he said mildly.
Rose kept moving, now coming towards him. “Then teach me something that works! I want to be able to fight at your side, watch your back: not just learn how to wave my arms around!”
She wasn’t sure what happened next: one moment she was a few paces away from the Doctor; alert and tense. The next she felt something like an electric shock go through her from a quick touch to her side: the room spun and she was flat on her back, the sprung floor cushioning her fall but the Doctor looking down at her with his arms crossed and a slightly superior expression. Rose gaped.
“How the hell did you do that?” she demanded as he reached down to give her a hand upright.
He couldn’t help but look smug. “I simply turned your own energy against you,” he said, grinning. “Most of the nasties we face are far bigger than us, but if you can turn their power against them, well,” the grin became a smirk, “they become pussy cats. No problem.”
Rose quirked an eyebrow. The Doctor gently laid his hands on her shoulders. “True power comes from within, Rose. You need to learn to work with your opponent’s power, not against it.” His deep gaze hardened. “Fighting against it will get you killed.” He broke eye contact, looking as if he was remembering some long forgotten pain.
Rose sighed. “Okay. Point taken. I’ll try it.”
The Doctor looked back at her with his most charming schoolboy smile. “Fantastic!”
II
Rose found the next hour exhausting, but reluctantly she admitted it was also fascinating. The Doctor demonstrated something he called the Short Form, a series of flowing, sweeping movements that he assured her he would teach her, although he claimed it took most humans many months to perfect.
“You’ve got to begin by learning how to stand,” he instructed Rose, as he straightened her spine and shoulders with sure, firm touches for the umpteenth time. “You can’t move with balance until you can stand with balance.”
”I’m trying,” said Rose through gritted teeth. She was currently standing with her feet planted directly under her knees, shoulder width apart: her left arm turned slightly to the side in front of her, palm open as if she was touching someone’s shoulder, her right arm out to the side, her fingers pinched against her thumb as if it was a little crane in an amusement arcade stuffed toy machine. Her thighs were killing her from standing in a slight crouch and her right shoulder was starting to develop shooting pains.
The Doctor finally seemed to sense her exhaustion. “Alright. Relax,” he said gently, smiling softly but eyes twinkling. “We’ll finish up today with a little philosophy lesson. Close your eyes.”
Rose did so, and felt the Doctor come up close to her. “I want you to imagine three points of light in your body,” he said softly, “three points of focus and power. One here,” she felt him gently touch the centre of her forehead, “in the centre of your brain. Your point of seeing and thinking. One here,” he touched the point above her heart, your point of feeling and emotion, and here,” he touched her gently on the stomach, slightly below her belly button. “Your centre of power and driving force. The Taoists call it your Dantien, and it’s your centre of balance.”
Rose could hear him start to slowly back away, his soft voice continuing as he paced around her. “For the rest of today I want you to concentrate on feeling yourself centred in these three internal spaces.” Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder and one on her waist, and her eyes shot open as she felt him turn and dip her. He looked deep into her eyes and winked. “Still focussed?”
Rose gulped and nodded.
“Do you like Tai Chi now?” he asked softly, mouth inches from hers.
“Oh yes,” she said, smiling widely as she closed the gap and kissed him.
He broke away with a little smirk. “We can have another Tai Chi lesson tomorrow, but, if you’re interested, I could teach you some of the Taoist Tantric disciplines tonight.”
Rose grinned. “Even though I have no idea what that is, why do I get the impression that it’s something I’m going to want to learn?”
The Doctor looked at her with a mischievous grin. “Oh yes, Rose,” he gently brought her upright and gave her another quick kiss. “I know you will.”
fin