#dwinboxbuddies

[megabadbunny]

a quick sketch of space wives rose x thirteen for my dw inbox buddy, the excellent @dimensionhoppingrose ! it’s been a pleasure ficletting for you, my dear! <3

[skyler10fic]

Bed and Breakfast

By Skyler10

Summary: Best friends John and Rose go on a post-uni road trip with Mickey and Martha!

Notes: Written as askbox drabbles for @stupidsatsuma for the @dwinboxbuddies event on Tumblr. Sorry it took me so long to post this, Buddy! 

When John suggested a road trip to Rose, Mickey, and Martha after graduation, Rose was thrilled. What could be better than driving across the UK with her three best friends? Of course, her four-year-long crush on John was an issue, but she’d do what she had done so far: remind herself that he was on to a better future than she’d ever have a shot at. But there was no reason to let the sad realities of life get her down! She was going to enjoy every minute left w/ her mates before they scattered all over.

John paced his near-empty flat, avoiding boxes and packing tape. “Relax!” Jack assured him. “It’s not like you’ll be cuddled up to her at night.”

“But it’s Rose,” John whined. “She’s going to be able to tell.”

“She hasn’t so far,” Jack reminded.

John shook his head. “She probably saw right through me on the first day we met.”

“Why don’t you just tell her you love her and get it over with?”

“I can’t lose her friendship, Jack. She doesn’t see me like that.”

Jack sighed.

Jack and Ianto waved them off before heading to the airport for their own trip. Mickey, Martha, Rose, and John loaded up the SUV. It was a long drive north to Scotland, made even longer by their “scenic route” detours that John insisted upon. They didn’t have to start their jobs or grad school classes for weeks, so there was no rush. With a playlist they had carefully crafted together before the trip, all seemed off to a good start for the first day or two… until day three, when the rain began.

What started as a slow drizzle escalated into pouring by the time the SUV pulled into the parking lot of their B&B. The place was dark, however, with one flickering porchlight.

“Umm, are you sure this is it?” Rose asked.

Martha checked the address. “Must be. Same as the photos online.”

“Sure wish someone hadn’t forgotten to pack the umbrellas,” Mickey grumbled at John.

They dashed to the front door, and John knocked loud enough to wake anyone who had gone to bed early inside. “Anyone there?” he called.

The four looked at each other, now thoroughly soaked, and burst out laughing.

Eventually, the B&B’s owner, an old woman with a shawl around her shoulders, opened the door and rushed them inside. Being gentlemen, Mickey and John went back into the rain for the luggage while Rose and Martha signed in and got keys to their rooms. The owner handed the girls each a key to a different room.

“I’ll just hold on to the boys’ key,” Rose said, hinting to the woman that the arrangements were different than she assumed. The woman frowned and shook her head.

“Where are my manners?” the old woman exclaimed. “C’mon in to the tea room.”

The boys returned with the luggage just as her son appeared.

“Roger will take your luggage upstairs,” she said. “They can be a bit tricky.”

She ushered Mickey and John to join Martha and Rose in the dining area where a fire and hot tea awaited them. John smiled as he saw Rose at the table, huddled under a blanket, wet hair darker than it was when dry. The firelight illuminated her features as if she glowed.

Rose giggled as John sat next to her on the wood bench. She brushed his wet fringe back from his brow. “You look like you fell in a lake,” she teased. He turned away and ducked his head. “I didn’t say it was a bad thing.” She poked his side. “Kinda cute actually.”

“Yeah?”

She couldn’t help but giggle again. He was so serious! “Yes.”

She tapped his nose and returned to her tea but noticed him preening despite his soaked clothes. Well, with the way his shirt clung to his chest, he had a right.

After they finished their tea, they were reluctant to leave the warm tea room, but headed upstairs anyway, knowing they needed the rest for the road tomorrow. When they got to their respective rooms, Martha claimed dibs on one shower and John won rock-paper-scissors with Mickey for theirs. That’s when Rose and Mickey separately realized that they had each other’s bags. Instead of the girls’ luggage in one room and the guys’ luggage in the other, they had been assigned rooms as couples.

“Now what?” Rose texted Mickey back. But her question was answered by a frustrated groan from Martha, holding her phone to her ear.

“Mum just texted me,” she said while she waited for him to pick up.

“Trouble?” Rose asked.

“Yeah, Dad and Mickey had a fight last time they were over and Mum just heard about it,” Martha sighed. “Would it be alright if he came to our room to talk it out with them?”

Rose nodded and explained about the luggage anyway, pointing to his bag already in the room.

“I know you are John aren’t–” Martha began, “But, well, this might take a while.”

“It’s ok,” Rose assured her. “We’re adults. We can handle a little sleepover.”

Despite her family troubles, Martha grinned wickedly at Rose.

“Oh, not like that,” Rose scolded but giggled herself. She texted the plan to Mickey. No reason to be nervous, Rose thought, trying to calm her irrational nerves. It’s just John. Her best friend. Whom she was madly in love with. Oh, this was going to be a long night.

John swallowed as Mickey rushed out of the room to aid his girlfriend with her family troubles. John stood gaping as Rose timidly entered the room. She blushed as her eyes scanned over his body. Suddenly he was very aware that he was standing next to the room’s one bed with a bare chest and low-slung pajama pants. She was still in her damp clothes so he gestured to the en suite. “All yours.”

“Thanks,” she returned, stopping by her bag on the way to pull out her soft sleep shirt and shorts.

John was in bed reading by the time Rose was done. She climbed in next to him, trying to convince herself it wasn’t awkward. Just some friendly bed sharing.

“What are you reading?” she asked to break the ice.

“Ghost story,” he responded with an eyebrow waggle.

“You can hold my hand if you get scared,” she offered before she could stop herself. She started to backtrack, but his grin disarmed her.

“I’d like that,” he confessed. Her heart skipped a beat as he leaned in closer.

“What if I’m scared already?” John asked, wide eyes belying his suave tone.

Rose saw her chance and took it: “Well, if you’re really, really scared, I can kiss it better.”

John’s jaw dropped. “Doesn’t that only work for injuries?” he asked stupidly.

Rose giggled. “Don’t think it matters. All that matters is, what would you think if we did? Kiss, that is.” She looked up at him demurely through her lashes then back down to pick at imaginary fuzz on the sheet.

John didn’t answer in words.

His lips on hers were heaven. The moment was all too brief. He pulled away, and she swallowed, ready to say it’s ok if he didn’t like her like she liked him and how they could just forget it ever happened if he wanted to, but he was only putting his book on the nightstand.

“Rose,” he asked, spotting her uncertainty, “can I kiss you again?”

She nodded, trying to keep her smile from interfering as their lips met once more.

They broke for air, and John whispered, “Wow.”

“Really?” Rose asked, ducking her head modestly.

“I confess I’ve wanted to do that for quite some time,” he replied.

“You could’ve, you know… I wouldn’t have minded,” she mumbled.

He smiled and placed his hand over hers on the quilt. “I’m glad to know that now.”

The warmth in his tone melted her right there. “Have we really spent all this time wishing the other would make the first move?” she giggled.

He shrugged sheepishly. “Afraid we have.”

Rose asked sadly, “Did we miss out on 'us' now that uni is over?”

“No! There's no way I'm letting you go now," he rushed out.

“And we ARE going to live on the same side of London...” she realized.

He beamed. “Rose, would you like to be my girlfriend?”

Her heart skipped a beat. “Yes!” She didn’t wait for his reply to kiss him again.

“We’re getting rather good at that,” he quipped.

“Dunno…Think we could use some more practice.” Rose quirked an eyebrow. He took the hint and snogged her again.

In the morning, it was clear something was different. Mickey was the one to figure it out when he saw Rose grab John’s hand under the breakfast table. He crowed, “It worked! They got together!”

“You set this up?!” Rose exclaimed.

“All you needed was a little push,” Martha answered and waved her phone.

“They played us!” Rose said to John, who placed an arm around her shoulder.

“I don’t care how it happened. No one for me but Rose Tyler.”

Rose smiled and kissed his cheek.

Martha grinned at her friends’ happiness. “I suppose we can consider last night’s rooming arrangements permanent for the rest of the trip?” she teased.

“Fine by me,” Rose answered, dreamy eyes still on John, who hummed happily.

“That’s settled then,” Mickey concluded with an arm around Martha. After all, John and Rose weren’t the only couple in love in the room. They loaded up their SUV and continued on their journey across Britain: an epic first double date.

THE END

[lastbluetardis]

Pumpkin Spice Latte

This was written for @blueboxesandtrafficcones as part of the @dwinboxbuddies event. And I was inspired by all the lovely autumn aesthetic posts on @doctorroseprompts.

Ten x Rose AU, pregnancy fic

Autumn was in the air. The temperatures has dropped, finally bringing relief from the weeks of hot, muggy air. The skies were the clearest of blue, and the wind brought a sting to exposed noses and cheeks. The leaves were all changing from boring green to bright hues of reds, oranges, and yellow. But best of all was the explosion of pumpkin-flavored everything, seemingly overnight.

John was excited for the season--mostly because it meant he and Rose were just that much closer to greeting their daughter. He smiled fondly at his four-month pregnant wife who was currently scouring their fridge for breakfast, and at the tiniest hint of a baby bump she was beginning to show.

“Surprise, love!” he announced as he kicked the front door shut behind him. “I’ve got us coffees! The first pumpkin spice latte of the season!”

“Oh, you’re definitely a keeper,” Rose said, dancing up to him.

“Well I would hope so,” he teased, bending down to give her a kiss. He set the drinks carrier on the kitchen island, then the bag of baked goods next. “Got a bit of everything. Pumpkin donuts, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin… Rose?”

Rose had taken a sip of the cup that had her name written on it, but her face was pinched in a grimace as her cheeks slowly drained of color.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” he asked, his heart beating a little too quickly as Rose looked like she was about to be sick.

“I dunno,” she whispered. “I don’t like it…”

James snatched up her cup and popped off the lid. It looked like a normal pumpkin spice latte. He brought it up to his nose and sniffed. It smelled like a normal pumpkin spice latte. He then took a small sip. It tasted like a normal pumpkin spice latte.

“Do you want to try mine?” he offered, pushing his towards her.

“No,” Rose whimpered, and John was confused as to why tears had filled her eyes.

“Rose? What’s the matter love?” he asked gently, stepping up to her.

“The baby doesn’t like pumpkin!” she wailed. “I’ve been waiting all summer for my pumpkin spice lattes! And now I can’t have them!”

John dutifully swallowed down the giggle he could feel building up in favor of scooping Rose into his arms. Ridiculous though it was, Rose was genuinely upset, and John could never laugh at her when she was upset.

“It’ll be all right,” he murmured, stroking his fingers through her hair. “Everything will be all right. You’ll see.”

“It’s not fair,” she cried into his shirt.

“I know,” he said, pressing his lips to her hear. “I know it’s not. But hey. It’s all worth it because it’s our baby. Eh?”

Rose sniffled and pulled back, and John was pleased at the small smile on her face. She swiped at her eyes with one hand as she placed the other hand on her belly.

“Yeah, it is,” she said warmly. Then her cheeks pinkened and she dropped her gaze as she chuckled dryly. “Blimey. Look at me. I’m a mess, getting all upset over a stupid drink.”

“It’s all right. Your hormones are a little bit out of sync, is all,” John said. “If it makes you feel better, though, as soon as this baby is born and you can stomach it again, I will learn how to make a pumpkin spice latte, just for you, so you won’t have to wait ‘til next autumn.”

Rose beamed at him with that smile that always made John’s heart swell in his chest, and she reached up to cradle the back of his neck. She lifted herself and pressed her lips to his. He hummed as she angled her head to the side to catch his bottom lip between hers.

Before John could deepen the kiss, Rose pulled back. She nuzzled her nose against his and stroked her fingertips softly against the nape of his neck as she whispered, “My perfect husband.”

John hummed happily. “My perfect wife,” he replied, before he leaned down to catch her lips once more.

[chocolatequeennk]

A Strangely Familiar Touch, 2/2

The Doctor was wandering through an alien market, minding his own business, when he felt a strangely familiar mind brush against his. The strange part was, he knew immediately that he had not met this woman yet–but apparently, he would one day.

Written for Eight x Rose August, with prompts from @legendslikestardust and @doctorroseprompts (Eight x Rose, dimension hopping Rose meets Eight)

This chapter was also written for @starsandfairytales for @dwinboxbuddies. The entire thing has been edited and reworked, so while several large chunks will be familiar, lots of it is new. And of course, it’s actually complete now! I hope you like it. I really enjoyed writing for you this month and reading your comments.

AO3 | FF.NET | TSP | Ch 1

Walking through an alien marketplace, the Doctor’s hand in hers and his mind hovering at the edges of hers, Rose felt at home for the first time in two years. It didn’t matter that she had never seen this cravat-wearing Doctor before today—he was still the Doctor, and they were still the Doctor and Rose.

But somewhere out there, her Doctor was waiting—the one she’d said goodbye to on Bad Wolf Bay. Rose tried to reach for him, but even though the bond had snapped back into place when she’d felt the younger Doctor’s presence, there still seemed to be… interference or something blocking her from her pinstriped Doctor.

“Is something wrong, Rose?”

When Rose looked up at the Doctor, her breath caught at the familiar concern in his blue eyes. The same man, always.

Before she could explain that she was worried about her Doctor, she felt another presence in her mind. The TARDIS was singing to her, calling her home.

Rose dropped the Doctor’s hand and ran towards the sound, careening around a corner and narrowly avoiding the shoppers coming in the opposite direction. She ignored the annoyed shouts, because she could see it now—the blue box parked at the end of the dead-end street.

She ran the remaining twenty yards, barely skidding to a halt before running into the ship. Her key was out and in her hand, and she slid it into the lock with shaking fingers.

When Rose stepped over the threshold, the console room lights flashed and the song swelled around her. Her eyes widened as she took in the cosy armchair and the bookshelves along the wall. She ran her fingers over the wood panelling, feeling the joyful buzz of the ship as she did.

“Oh, look at you!” she cooed. “You are beautiful.”

The door closed behind her, and Rose turned around to look at the Doctor. He was staring at her with little wrinkles around his eyes, and she could feel the confusion in his mind.

“Well that’s unusual,” he said, looking at the time rotor and then back at Rose. “She’s not usually so friendly with my travelling companions.”

Rose leaned on the console and looked at him with raised eyebrows. I’m not exactly an ordinary travelling companion, she reminded him.

His cheeks turned pink, and he tugged on his cravat exactly like her pinstriped Doctor would tug on his tie. She bit back her smile, and wondered if this Doctor babbled when he was nervous, or if he kept his smooth demeanour.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes; Rose was entirely too entertained by his perfectly natural bemusement. It wasn’t every day one met their future bondmate after all—not even for a Time Lord.

He tilted his head and smirked at her. Obviously not, he agreed, letting the thought wrap around her mind. When Rose shivered and her cheeks turned pink, he felt like he’d evened the score nicely.

Then he cleared his throat and spoke out loud again. “However, we were talking about your relationship with the TARDIS, not your relationship with me. If I didn’t know better, I would say she liked you even more than me.”

The TARDIS buzzed rudely in his mind, and the Doctor raised an eyebrow when Rose giggled in response. She even seemed to understand the ship’s unique way of communicating.

His eyebrow went up even higher when Rose tilted her head as if she were listening to something only she could hear. She turned towards the console and the Doctor’s jaw dropped when he realised she was setting coordinates.

The connection between his bondmate and his ship was humming around him. The Doctor narrowed his eyes and focused on it, while Rose continued to adjust their heading. How could she…

“You looked into the TARDIS…” he said, the words coming to him before he realised he was speaking.

Rose looked up at him, an ethereal smile on her face and a glint of gold in her eyes. “And she looked into me.”

She moved her hands away from the console, and the TARDIS prodded the Doctor forward. He studied the coordinates she’d set. “Well, it looks like she decided to help you find your Doctor without any help from me. If I’m reading this right, he’s in New York City in November of 1930.” He wrapped his fingers around a lever and smiled warmly at her. “Time to go home, Rose Tyler.”

The TARDIS rocked into motion. The Doctor smiled and shook his head when Rose laughed and grabbed onto the console, keeping her feet with ease. Everything about her seemed to fit perfectly into his life, exactly the way her hand fit perfectly into his.

He felt the same pull to keep her with him that he’d felt in by the fountain, but this time, it was stronger and harder to resist. The thought of letting her go when he’d just found her made his hearts ache.

Remember, if she stays with you now, your future self will suffer longer with a broken bond.

The Doctor cleared his throat and looked at his bondmate. “So, Rose, how long have we been bonded?” He watched in fascination as Rose twisted a diamond and rose gold ring around her finger instead of answering right away.

“That depends,” she said finally. She shrugged and looked at him. “D’you mean, how long were we bonded before we were separated? Or how long has it been, in total, for me?”

The Doctor leaned against the console and crossed his arms over his chest. The implication that a different length of time might have passed for his future self intrigued him, but… “Why don’t you start with the first?” he suggested.

She sighed and brushed a piece of hair back over her ear. “We were bonded for three months before I was trapped in a parallel universe.”

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. Getting to a parallel universe to bring Rose home shouldn’t have been a problem.

“The walls between the worlds are sealed,” she said when he started to protest. He closed his mouth, and she shrugged. “You tried… I know you did. But both worlds woulda collapsed if you’d come through.”

He nodded slowly. Something had apparently happened to destabilise the multiverse, making travel between dimensions incredibly dangerous. He tried to ignore the notion that the building war between the Time Lords and the Daleks could conceivably cause that kind of devastation, and focused his attention on Rose instead.

“And yet you found your way home.”

She tilted her head back, and her eyes glinted gold once more. “I promised to stay with you forever. I’m gonna keep that promise.”  

The determination in her voice made the Doctor’s hearts stutter in his chest. “Rose,” he breathed, unable to say anything more.

Rose smiled and reached up to press her fingers gently to his temple. With the contact in this sensitive place, their bond opened as wide as it could.

Mind to mind, I bind myself to you, to the ends of space and time.

The Doctor gasped when she repeated the familiar words of the Gallifreyan bonding ceremony. He swayed slightly and reached automatically for Rose to anchor himself. She took a half-step towards him when his hand landed on her waist, and a moment later he felt her hand slide under his green frock coat. Her human heat seared through his waistcoat and his thin cotton shirt, and he shivered at the sensation.

Rose… The Doctor looked for some way of explaining how it felt to be so connected to another person. After a few moments, he gave up and bent down to press his forehead to hers. Their breathing synced automatically, and his eyes fluttered closed at the simple intimacy of it.

But a moment later, the TARDIS hit a patch of temporal turbulence, causing them both to nearly lose their balance. They grabbed each other’s coats to stay upright. When their flight evened out, they looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“Oh, I missed this,” Rose admitted, shaking her head. “Silly, I know, but the tiny misadventures that are part of life with you were some of the things I missed the most.”

The Doctor reluctantly let go of Rose and leaned against the console. “How long were we separated, Rose?”

The loneliness he’d felt from her earlier that afternoon flared again, and her brown eyes turned glassy. “Two years,” she said, her voice raspy. “Two years without you in my head, Doctor. I thought… I thought I’d go spare at first, an’ then I just buried myself in the dimension cannon project so I could ignore the empty place in my mind.”

She brushed her hands down the front of her blue leather jacket, then stuck them in her jeans pockets. The Doctor waited patiently for her to ask the question he could feel at the edge of her mind, and finally, she looked up at him, her lip caught between her teeth and worry lines creasing her forehead.

“There’s something I’ve been wondering,” she said quietly. “You told me when we bonded that we’d be able to talk to each other from anywhere in the universe. But I’ve been tryin’ to reach my you ever since I saw you in the courtyard and realised I wasn’t quite home yet… and he’s not replying. It’s like he’s not there, even though having you here has taken care of my headache.”

The Doctor winced. The answer was immediately clear to him, but he knew it would upset Rose. However, the bond would make it obvious if he told her anything less than the truth—plus, he knew instinctively Rose would be upset if he sugarcoated things for her.

“You’ve experienced the trauma of a broken bond, Rose,” he reminded her gently. “You know how much it hurts. And my future self… he doesn’t have the benefit of a younger Rose popping into his life to offer even the facsimile of healing you’ve experienced.” The Doctor sighed and rubbed at his temple, where he could almost feel the phantom pain travelling back to him from the future. “It’s likely the wound from the broken bond left me unable to tell you had returned to this universe.”

Rose gasped, and a tear trickled down her cheek. The Doctor was prepared to offer her a hug, but to his surprise, she reached instead for the time rotor, pressing her hands to it. “Go faster, old girl, please,” she whispered brokenly. “Take me to him.”

oOoOo

The Doctor’s head pounded as he and Martha crossed New York Harbour to return to the TARDIS. The missing bond always hurt, but today it felt like someone was inside his skull, hammering against his temple from the inside with a pick axe. He lifted his hand and rubbed at the spot, and a second later, he sucked in a breath when pain radiated from his temple like a spider web, going down to his jaw and into his forehead.

Every day, the pain reminded him that Rose was gone. Not that I needed a reminder today, after seeing the Daleks again. Why do they always survive, when I have to go on alone? Why can’t they lose, just once?

He knew his anger was exacerbating his migraine, but how could he not be angry when the Daleks were here and Rose was still in the parallel universe?

He jumped when he felt a hand on his elbow, and Martha smiled apologetically when he turned to her. “Sorry.” She held up her hands. “But are you all right, Doctor? You’re rubbing at your head again. I would have thought with all your futuristic medicine, you wouldn’t get headaches.”

The Doctor laughed mirthlessly and lowered his hand, reaching automatically for his wedding band instead. “There are some kinds of pain that not even sixty-third century pain reliever can take care of,” he said as he twisted the ring around his finger.

Martha’s gaze dropped to his hand and she nodded. “I know you miss Rose,” she said quietly.

His throat closed up, but thankfully, the ferry docked on the island before he could reply to her implicit question. The ritual of disembarking from the boat kept Martha occupied for a few minutes, and by the time they were standing on terra firma, he could change the subject. With his head pounding and his hearts aching, he had no desire to talk to Martha about Rose.

In fact… He cast her a sidelong glance as they walked down the gangplank. One trip, he’d said. One trip as a thank you. And now he’d taken her on three. Maybe he should take Martha home, so he could be alone.

Martha shook her head as she struggled to keep up with the Doctor’s long strides on the way back to the TARDIS. She could almost see the loneliness he was trying to shake off, but it clung to him stubbornly. She sighed; today had obviously stirred up memories of his lost wife.

Maybe I can distract him a bit? she thought as she jogged alongside him. An idea came to her, and she crossed her fingers that it would work.

“Can I make a request?” she asked.

The Doctor cast her a sideways glance, and she could tell he was about to remind her that she’d only been invited along for a few trips. Martha shook her head quickly; there was no way she was letting him travel alone, not when he was still hurting this much.

“Wherever we go next, can it not be another version of New York City?” She raised an eyebrow. “Old New York wasn’t any better than New New York in the end.”

He stopped and ran a hand through his hair. “You haven’t had very good luck so far, have you?”

Martha snorted. “Cursed by witches, kidnapped and then nearly eaten by Macra, and captured by Daleks?” She hated herself for purposely triggering his guilt complex, but if he took her on another trip because he felt like he still owed it to her, then at least she’d achieved her goal of not leaving him alone. She could figure out a better way to stay on the TARDIS later.

His shoulders slumped, and she knew she’d been right in thinking he wanted to be alone.

“Just maybe one more,” she wheedled. “Maybe… oh! Going back to see the dodo before they go extinct?” she suggested. “Can’t be anything dangerous about that.”

The Doctor sighed and started walking again, without answering her question. Martha scowled at his back and was just about ready to bluntly tell him he was too self-destructive to be left alone, when he stopped suddenly, his whole posture stiffened.

“Doctor?”

He waved her off and tilted his head, like he was listening to something only he could hear. His whole body relaxed as he took a deep breath, then tensed, poised to run. His eyes were half closed, but after less than a minute, they snapped open.

“Rose!” he said, his voice strangled. Then he took off running.

The Doctor was vaguely aware that Martha was yelling his name, but he ignored her. Unless this was the worst trick the universe had ever played on him, Rose was here. He’d heard another TARDIS land, and then, impossibly, her warm, pink and gold presence had wrapped itself around his mind.

He reached out for it as he ran. Rose!

Oh God, Doctor, I’m here.

The Doctor’s vision went blurry as tears streamed down his face, but he trusted his telepathy and hurtled down the path towards Rose’s shining light.

As he turned the corner onto the path that led back to the TARDIS, he caught his first glimpse of her racing towards him, her hair flowing behind her, arms pumping as she ran. His laughter caught in his throat on a sob, and he somehow managed to put on more speed, closing the distance between them.

Then he skidded to a halt and held his arms out, and Rose covered the last few metres with a flying leap, hitting his body hard enough to momentarily knock the wind out of him. He recovered quickly and spun her around in circles, delighting in the sound of her laughter.

My Doctor. Her eyes sparkled with joy, a marked difference from the last time he’d seen her.

The Doctor carefully set her down on her feet. Rose, you’re here. Even though he could feel the warmth of her skin as he cupped her jaw, he still couldn’t believe she was actually there.  Please tell me this is real.

It is. She turned her head to nuzzle into his hand. I’m here, love, I promise.

The Doctor took a shuddering breath to stave off the tears threatening once more. Then he slowly moved his hand to Rose’s temple, watching to make sure this was what she wanted.

In answer, she mirrored his motions with her own hand, and in wordless agreement, they made contact simultaneously.

The Doctor gasped when the pain of the broken bond was swept away by the pleasure of having Rose in his mind again. He swayed slightly under the onslaught of her overwhelming love, and he had to wrap an arm around her waist to steady himself.

Rose. He moved his hand slowly from her temple, letting his fingers sift through her hair. She tilted her head back, and he couldn’t resist the invitation, finally bending down to kiss her for the first time in six months.

Martha stopped dead in her tracks when she finally caught up with the Doctor—the Doctor, who was currently locked in a rather passionate embrace with a blonde woman. After a week of travelling with him, this was the last thing she’d expected to see, and she wasn’t sure how to react.

“That’s Rose, his wife,” another man said. “They’ve been separated for… a while.”

The surprise of being addressed by a stranger was enough to pull her attention away from the couple snogging in the middle of the park. Martha looked over at the man who’d spoken, then blinked a few times when she took in his green velvet frock coat.

“I thought she was gone,” Martha managed to say.

The stranger’s blue eyes crinkled up as he smiled. “She was, but she managed to come back to me. I suspect Rose Tyler will always find her way back to me.”

“To you?” Martha repeated, the implications making her head spin.

The man had the decency to look a little chagrinned. “Ah. Yes. I’m the Doctor, just a little younger than the one you know.”

Martha started to argue, then she considered everything she’d seen in the last week. “You know what?” she said, brushing a piece of hair out of her face. “I just left a pig man in Hooverville with his showgirl girlfriend. If you say you’re the Doctor, I suppose I can believe you.”

This younger Doctor tipped his head back and laughed in delight. “I take it you travel with me in the future?” he asked a moment later.

Martha crossed her arms over her chest and rested her weight on one foot. “If I don’t, you just gave a lot away to a perfect stranger,” she pointed out drily.

The Doctor shook his head and smiled at his future companion. Talking to her had been a welcome distraction from the uncomfortable jealousy stirring in his hearts as he watched himself kiss the woman he already felt connected to.

He could still feel Rose’s happiness, and as much as he tried to be glad he would one day make her that happy, he couldn’t deny the gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach. He would have to leave her behind—forget her, even, in order to preserve the timelines. And then who knew how long it would be before he found her again?

Just as he was considering sneaking away, Rose eased back from his older self, and a moment later, he found himself wrapped in a fierce hug.

The Doctor sighed and closed his eyes as he held Rose tight. He let himself indulge in one more brush of his mind against hers, knowing it would have to last him until he met Rose and found the courage to ask her to bond with him.

Thank you, Doctor, she whispered in his mind.

I will always be here for you, Rose. He pressed a kiss to her temple, letting his lips linger there until his future self cleared his throat.

The Doctor frowned, but stepped out of Rose’s embrace. “I suppose I really ought to be going now,” he said reluctantly. “And don’t worry, Doctor—I’ll conceal my memories of today as soon as I’m gone.” He smiled at Rose. “This is one timeline I have no desire to change.”

His future self nodded. “Thank you, Doctor. For bringing her home.”

The Doctor smiled wryly. “I’m considering it a downpayment on my future happiness. But now I should really go before I decide to be selfish and entice Rose to stay with me.”

Rose tilted her head and looked at him. “When you meet me,” she said after a long moment, “make sure you remember to tell me that she also travels in time.”

The Doctor felt the instruction sink into his subconscious, and he knew that somehow, he would remember that—even if it did take a bit for her words to jog his memory when the time was right.

He smiled and took her hand, brushing a kiss over the back of it. “Until we meet again.”

Rose felt her pinstriped Doctor slip an arm around her waist and pull her close as they watched his past self leave. The younger Doctor had been amused by what he had perceived as jealousy on the part of his future self, but standing next to him, feeling his mind in hers, Rose knew better.

Even though she was standing right beside him, the Doctor was terrified something would happen to take her away again.

I’m not going anywhere, love, she promised. Not without you.

Some of his anxiety eased, but he didn’t loosen his hold on her. Let’s go home, he suggested, turning slightly towards the TARDIS, standing only ten feet away.

Rose pressed her lips into a thin line at the obvious attempt at deflection. Obviously, it would take some time to recover from their separation.

A woman about her age was watching her and the Doctor with a small smile, and Rose poked at him telepathically. You gonna introduce me to your friend?

“Oh!” The Doctor jolted slightly, and Rose realised he had almost forgotten the other woman was there. “Martha Jones, this is Rose Tyler… my wife. Rose, this is Martha. She’s a medical student at Royal Hope in 2008.”

Rose smiled and held her hand out for Martha. “Thanks for watching out for him for me, Martha,” she said.

Martha grinned as she shook her hand. “It was a nice break from my studies, but I think I’m ready to go back now.”

Rose smiled, then turned towards the TARDIS to hide her relief. She didn’t want to kick anyone out of the ship, but after living apart from her bondmate for two years, they really needed time alone to get used to being together again.

“Come on,” the Doctor said, unlocking the TARDIS and opening the door. “Time for a quick trip back to London.”

A wave of dizziness washed over Martha as she stepped into the TARDIS. She stumbled as she walked down the ramp after the Doctor and Rose, and he just barely caught her before she hit the grating.  

“Martha?” the Doctor asked, his voice sharp. “What’s wrong?”

She put her hand to her temple and shook her head. “It’s like… I suddenly have two sets of memories. Things that happened before are changing—Harold Saxon doesn’t even exist anymore, whereas before I left with you, he was all set to be the next prime minister, assuming the election went like everyone was predicting.”

The Doctor sucked in a breath, and Martha looked up at him, hoping he could explain what was happening.

“Timelines are changing,” he muttered, almost talking to himself. “Because Rose came back, there’s something… something we won’t do, and that is changing everything.”

“But how can I remember if it never happened?” Martha argued.

“You’re a time traveller, Martha,” Rose explained. “That… it doesn’t quite make you memory proof, like a Time Lord would be, but it means that if something happens to time while you’re travelling, you’ll be able to remember both the version you lived through, and the new version of reality.”

Martha nodded slowly. “I suppose that makes sense,” she said. Then she jumped to her feet. “And now I’m even more eager to get home, so I can figure out what else has changed.”

The Doctor darted over to the console and twirled around it, moving dials and shifting levers. “Well then! Next stop, London!” he crowed as he threw the dematerialisation lever.

Martha watched him, trying to pinpoint what was different in him. She’d seen the whole routine four times now, but this… Her eyes widened when she realised what it was—the smile on his face was real. The glow in his eyes was happiness, instead of mania.

The Doctor looked up from the controls several times as the TARDIS rocked through the Vortex, and each time, a daft little grin crossed his face when he saw Rose standing there. And Rose—she was holding onto the console, head thrown back in laughter, looking like she’d been born to travel on the TARDIS.

The landing was softer than Martha was used to, and she looked at the door, then back at the Doctor. “We’re here?” she double-checked.

“Yep!” He bounced on his toes. “Just twelve hours after we left. No time at all, really.”

Rose sauntered over and nudged him with her elbow. “And you’re sure it’s only been twelve hours this time?” she teased.

Martha looked at the couple—the Doctor with an aggrieved smile, Rose’s cheeky grin—and she shook her head. “I’m not going to ask,” she decided. Then she walked up the ramp, opened the door, and stepped into her flat.

Rose nudged the Doctor again, and after pouting for a moment, he followed Martha so he could give her a proper goodbye. The moment he left the TARDIS, he could feel the remnant of the abandoned timelines. He looked at the dark television, and a voice echoed back through time.

With the push of a single button, I will change what it means to be human.

Martha raised her eyebrows, and he shook his head quickly. Whatever he was seeing, it wouldn’t happen now. Rose’s return had changed things, even more than he’d expected.

Ignoring the future-that-wasn’t, he focused on the woman standing in front of him. How many times had she saved his life, in just a week? “Martha Jones, you’re a star,” he said warmly. Martha’s eyes lit up, and he opened his arms, offering a hug.

“I’m so glad Rose is back, Doctor,” Martha whispered as she squeezed him tight. “You deserve to be happy. Promise me you’ll be happy.”

The Doctor could feel his bondmate in the TARDIS waiting for him, and a bit more of his tension eased. “Oh, Martha,” he murmured. “Happy isn’t even the word for it.”

She stepped back, a smile on her face. “Good.”

The Doctor grinned, then pushed the TARDIS door open. “You have a fantastic life,” he ordered, then he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

Rose was perched on the jump seat, swinging her legs slightly. The familiar sight made the Doctor’s hearts clench in his chest. He was afraid to move, lest the perfect image be just a mirage.

You’re home.

She hopped off the jump seat and threw the dematerialisation lever, and the Doctor let his weight shift from one leg to the other as they moved into the Vortex. Then he watched as Rose walked up the ramp to him, not stopping until she could put her hands over his hearts.

Her touch was so familiar, exactly like what he remembered, and the Doctor felt a few more of his worries chip away.

“I’m home,” she agreed as she slid her hands over his shoulders to link them behind his neck.

The Doctor rested his hands on her hips, pulling her close. “How long are you going to stay with me?”

Her lips curved up in a slow smile and the glow in her eyes was golden. “Forever,” she whispered, then she tugged him down for a kiss.

[shakingshore]

(ElevenxRose) Rose glanced at the Doctor. He was shuffling his feet and fidgeting on the spot. She knew this new regeneration was slightly shy and childish, but this was too much. “Doctor, why does our room have a bunk bed now?” He sniffed and straightened his bowtie. “Bunk beds are cool! A bed with a ladder! Can’t beat that.” Rose quirked a brow and hopped on the lower bunk. “And where are you supposed to sleep?” The Doctor grinned from ear to ear. “On top.” ~IBB

bless his sweet heart

thank u buddy!!

[whoinwhoville]

Alec Hardy never imagined in his life that the beautiful Rose Tyler in his college dorm would eve give him attention. However one night when he hears a wrap on his door and is met with her frustrated tired yet beautiful face he feels his weak heart stutter. She says her roommate is making too much noise so she needs a place to crash. After some awkward glances and blushes, they wind up spooning in his tiny twin bed. Hopefully her roommate will make a lot more noise in the future -dwibb

Oh!!!! College AU with ALEC AND ROSE!! Love this! I imagine him as super grumpy, and 100% secretly in love with Rose Tyler. This is amazing! I wish I could insert a gif here, Dearest IBB, because I need to send you a SQUEE GIF!

[lastbluetardis]

Campus Coffee House

This was written for @blueboxesandtrafficcones as part of the @dwinboxbuddies event. 

Ten x Rose AU

Rose has a crush on one of her regular customers.

AO3

He was a regular. Every morning, Monday through Friday, anywhere between 7:30 and 8am, he arrived in her shop, like clockwork. Always the same coffee order—regular coffee (their strongest brew) with room left so he could add cream and sugar—but he seemed to be making his way through their entire breakfast menu.

He was one of the fittest blokes Rose had ever seen, with his artfully-tousled brown hair and sparkling brown eyes, and his bright, genuine smile whenever he gave his order, despite the earliness of the morning. Rose always tried to make sure she was the one to take his order in the mornings, but that was often difficult to plan. Her coffee shop was a block away from a university, and students and faculty alike were always bustling in, bleary-eyed, around that time. Rose had yet to figure out if he was a student or faculty yet.

But Thursdays were the days he came in twice. It was later in the day—around 1:45pm—and his order was always the same, but different from his morning orders. The shop was dead on those afternoons, so Rose made sure she was the one to take his order.

“Caramel macchiato, no-fat milk?” she asked when he stepped into her shop.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a delighted grin. “Creature of habit, I suppose.”

“Just a bit,” she teased. “But an excellent customer.”

She scribbled his name—John—onto his cup and began preparing his drink.

This routine continued for over a year, with nothing more happening between the two of them than typical customer-employee conversation.

Rose often daydreamed of more. She dreamed that she had the courage to scribble her phone number onto the side of his mug, and that he would call her, and they would go out on a date together then fall in love and get married and live happily ever after together.

But every time he grinned at her with that boyish smile that made her heart skip a beat, she lost her nerve.

And then one day he stopped coming into the shop.

At first, Rose figured it was a one-off thing. Maybe he was sick, or on vacation. That had happened a few times over the course of the year. But after one week of him not appearing came another week. Then another. And another.

An entire semester passed, and Rose hadn’t seen her favorite customer. She assumed he graduated. That had to be it. She had always assumed he was faculty, but apparently not.

Then one day, a Thursday afternoon, the door to her shop and a ghost walked in.

Rose stared, wide-eyed, at John.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten my Thursday afternoon order,” he teased, walking up to the counter.

“John?” she asked stupidly.

“In the flesh,” he replied. When she continued staring, his cheeks went pink and he dropped his gaze and said, “Er, I’ll have a medium…”

“Caramel macchiato, no-fat milk,” Rose finished for him. “Coming right up.”

As she grabbed his to-go cup and her marker, she commented, “Haven’t seen you around for awhile.”

“I graduated,” he said brightly. “You are now looking at Doctor John Smith!”

Rose wrinkled her nose. “John Smith? Really?”

He smiled sheepishly. “A little lackluster, but hey. What can you do?”

“Change it,” she prompted.

“Nah, too much paperwork,” he said.

“Well how ‘bout a nickname, then?” Rose asked

John pursed his lips then smiled. “Tell you what, how about you give me a nickname?”

Biting her lip around a smile, Rose dropped the cup she had intended to give him, and instead she grabbed a new one and scrawled a new name onto it.

“So what brings you back to my little shop?” Rose asked as she made his drink.

“I had a job interview,” he said. “I applied for a teaching position at the school. Physics.”

“I hope it works out for you,” Rose said, handing him his coffee.

“Me too,” he said. “This is the best coffee shop I’ve been to. I haven’t been able to find one of equal value at any of the other universities I’ve applied to.”

Rose’s cheeks flushed with the praise, and she popped the lid onto his cup and handed it to him. She watched his face, and mirrored the grin that split his face when he saw the name she’d written.

“Doctor!” he read, delighted.

“Seemed fitting,” she said with a shrug, but she was pleased he seemed to enjoy his new, spur-of-the-moment nickname.

He took a sip of his drink, and winced when he probably scalded his mouth, but he then said, “Just as perfect as I remember it! Brilliant! Molto bene! Well, I’m off, but hopefully I’ll see you around. Until then, Rose Tyler!”

But she didn’t seem him again until two weeks later when he burst in on a late Monday morning with a beaming grin and shouted, “I got the job!”

The few other patrons turned their heads to look at him, but John didn’t seem to care. He skipped up to the counter, nearly bouncing in his giddy excitement.

“I got the job!” he said again, looking breathless and excited and so, so sexy.

“Congratulations!” Rose said, mirroring his face-splitting grin. “Coffee’s on the house today. What’ll you have? Something new?”

John considered the menu for a moment before he said, “Surprise me! How about you make me your favorite drink? And…” He glanced around at the shop. There were two other patrons in the shop, but they both had full drinks and were typing away on their laptops. “And would you maybe want to take your break with me?”

Rose’s heart stuttered in her chest, and she felt her lips curving up into a goofy smile.

“Okay,” she said.

“Okay? Okay! Brilliant!”

Rose giggled at him and at how flustered he looked, and she shook her head as she watched him take a seat at a table near a window. He’d left the seat overlooking the door for her, presumably so she would know when a new customer walked in, as though the tinkling bell over the door wasn’t evidence enough.

She quickly made two chai lattes, and grabbed a blueberry muffin for herself and a banana muffin for him.

“Here we are,” Rose said, setting the drinks and the plate in the center of the table. “Your mystery beverage.”

John grinned and picked up the mug, and brought it up to his nose. He sniffed at it, and hummed appreciatively before he took a sip.

“Mmm!” He smacked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “This is fantastic! Tea-based?”

“Mhm,” Rose said, taking a sip. “Chai latte.”

“Is there anything you make that isn’t absolutely delicious?” he asked, taking another sip.

Rose’s belly fluttered at the compliment, and she grinned and said, “Nope, otherwise there’s no point in having it on the menu.”

John’s eyes looked slightly glazed, and Rose realized he was staring at the tip of her tongue that she’d let peek through her teeth as she smiled.

He seemed to remember himself, and his cheeks went red and he blinked rapidly before he said, “Well, this really is amazing. I suppose I’ll have to come in regularly another day of the week and have that be chai latte day.”

“Maybe have a mystery day,” Rose said. “Mystery Mondays, or something, and I’ll just whip up something new for you. On the house.”

“I couldn’t possibly accept that,” John protested.

“My treat,” she said earnestly. “John, you’d been one of my most regular customers for over a year. And if you take this job, you’ll go back to being my regular. For as much time as you spend in here, it would be my pleasure to surprise you with a new drink every week. Besides, there’s no point in you spending money on a drink you might not like.”

John still didn’t look convinced, and Rose thought maybe she’d overstepped her bounds.

But then he smiled shyly and said, “Well, I’d still like to make it up to you. Maybe I could take you to dinner?”

Rose’s ears felt stuffed with cotton. “Dinner?”

He nodded silently, and absently rubbed his thumb along the lip of his mug.

“Okay,” Rose said.

A slow smile crossed his face, and Rose saw the way his hand had left his mug and was slowly inching towards hers. She set her hand on the table, a few inches away from his.

She didn’t take his hand, just in case she’s misread the signals, but then this fingertips brushed across hers. Her skin seemed to buzz where it touched his, and she felt warm and bubbly with happiness as she tentatively slipped her fingers between his.

He squeezed her fingers gently and rubbed his thumb across the back of hers. This was new but so brilliant, and Rose never thought holding hands could feel so intimate.

She didn’t know what they were, but decided it didn’t matter. They were Rose and John. The rest they could figure out later. Together.

[sequencefairy]

6/6"Rose. Can I kiss you?” She shakes her head. He inhales sharply, but before he can pull away she whispers, “It’s my turn.” Finally, she presses her lips to his. No matter she can’t see, they know where they belong. The kiss is chaste but like the universe is holding its breath. He exhales shakily against her lips. She can feel the joy radiating off him. “Thank you, Rose. You should go back to sleep.” “Fat chance.” She rolls on top of him, still kissing, because she has better dreams awake.💖

Pellaaaa! You darling! This is gorgeous, and thank you so so so so much for being my buddy this weekend! I really appreciate it and I’ve really really really enjoyed the fic!

[shakingshore]

(NinexRose) Everyone stopped aging until they met their soulmate. John was 900 and still hadn’t found his — no one lived alone this long. After centuries of travel, he stopped in London. A distracted blonde was about to step into traffic, and he grabbed her hand to pull her back. A jolt of electricity hit his body, and the piece that he had been missing fell into place. She gazed at him with a tongue-touched grin and squeezed his hand. He had lived for 900 years and his life had just begun. ~IBB

that last line omg :’) this is so lovely

[paigenotblank]

"So Rose," he asks with a smirk, "What's your type?" "You," her mind immediately blurts out, but Rose manages to keep the words from leaving her lips. "Would tall, strong, blue eyes, short, dark hair and wears a lot of leather be too obvious?" Rose asks herself. She scrambles for something else to say. "Urmm... brown hair, glasses, smart, and just a little bit sexy. He also needs a good sense of style and a good sense of humor," she finally says, smiling at the Doctor. -IBB

Hahaha! I love this! Rose inadvertently choses the next Doctor.

What she said:

What she wanted to say:

But she loves them both.  Thank you Buddy!

[dimensionhoppingrose]

In retrospect, Rose thinks, all of those little instances suddenly make sense. After all, women are just objectively prettier than men, aren’t they? Definitely much nicer to look at, on the average; certainly more fun to draw. And if those drawings feature gentle curves and sparkling eyes and soft skin on display just a little bit more than necessary, then so be it.

2) And female friends? They just need a smidge of extra protection—safety in numbers, that’s the ticket. The fact that your friends’ boyfriends are never good enough and earn an immediate heaping of intense distrust doesn’t mean anything./ And kissing girl-friends in public, at parties? Well, that’s just a fun thing that girls do, sometimes. They’re cute kisses. Friend kisses.

3) (Never mind the fact that she’s always been more comfortable when her Spin-the-Bottle twirl lands on a girl. Girls are just generally easier to be around. Aren’t they?)

4) Rose feels more than a little silly just sitting there, having an epiphany completely out of the blue (here, of all places; now, of all times). Because it isn’t that she has a problem with blokes. Blokes are lovely, and she’s loved more than one. Lord knows she loved the Doctor, when he was still *him*. But the funny thing is, she still loves the Doctor, in exactly the same way, now that she’s *her.*

5) It just finally makes sense, segments clicking into place together, a longstanding puzzle made whole when that last mischievous little piece is found hiding under the sofa. Suddenly the picture fills in, puzzle-pieces clicking together like magnets, like the teeth of a zipper, like fingers in a pair of interlocked hands./ And it all feels very new, and different—perhaps even *good* different.

6) “You know, it’s only a staring contest if both parties are participating,” the Doctor says, her voice jolting Rose out of her reverie./ Rose blinks. “What?”/ “You’re staring,” the Doctor says, sparing Rose a glance while she works. “Did you need something?”/ Clearing her throat, Rose shifts on the bench, tearing her gaze away from the Doctor and her clever hands. And her gorgeously tousled hair. And her lips, quirked into a mischievous smirk. And—/ And now she’s really staring. Dammit.

7) “What’s on your mind, Rose?”/ “Nothing,” Rose blurts./ When the Doctor quirks an eyebrow, Rose averts her gaze, glancing instead at the ember-glowing sun as it dips beneath the horizon, the soft pinks & purples bathing everything in a watercolor wash, the faint traces of silver glinting off ocean-waves & sparkling in the sand, reflecting the three moons rising shyly in the twilit sky. But when Rose speaks again, she isn’t looking at the landscape anymore./ “Just admiring the view,” she says.

*SCREAMING* QUEER ROSE IS EVERYTHING TO ME THANK YOU

[blueboxesandtrafficcones]

Worth the Wait

This was written during @dwinboxbuddies for @starry-nightflyer - the main event, so to speak.  (Though, it will probably feel super short reading it as one, lol)

TenxRose, coffee shop au.  Supporting cast of, well, Amy.  Mentions of Clara, Martha, and Donna.

Worth the Wait

She was here again. Like clockwork every Monday and Thursday for the past five weeks, the beautiful blonde was seated at the table in the corner, working diligently.  Every time she came in she would place the same order, dazzle him with her amazing smile that made his mind go blank, then commandeer that specific corner table for the next three hours.

Unfortunately for James, she was never alone for long.  Inevitably, before he could work up the courage to speak to her, another woman would arrive, and the two would become entrenched in their work before eventually leaving together.  Despite knowing she would be alone for approximately eight minutes after sitting down (not that he was counting) he could never bring himself to work up the nerve. The single time he had, he’d been so slammed with a sudden rush he’d lost his window of opportunity.  He could admit, if only to himself, he was an absolute coward.

He was also pretty sure he was in love.

“Have you considered actually speaking to her?”  Amy asked, popping up next to him and making him jump.  Glaring at her smirk, James grit his teeth.

“Speaking to whom?” He asked stiffly, barely paying any attention to the order he was taking.

“The pretty blonde you’ve been making mooneyes at for the last month.  Who’s on her way out the door as we speak.”

At her words, James’ head snapped towards the mysterious woman in horror, only to see her perched as usual in her typical spot.

Not taking his eyes off the woman, James reminded his barista, “You do know I’m your boss, right?”

“I do,” Amy acknowledged with a shrug, before adding a beat later; “And you know I know who she is, right?”

She barely managed to suppress the laugh at the hopeful, eager look in James’ eye as he turned to her.

“You do?”

“Yep.”  Popping the word as he so often did, Amy relished the anticipation on his face.

“How?”

“Well,” she reconsidered, “I don’t, actually.  But I do know the woman she’s here with.”

Like an overeager puppy, James pounced on the nugget of information.  “Well, all right then.  Who is she?”

Amy deliberately started cleaning up her work area, taking her time to answer.  Honestly, getting to tease him was one of the highlights of her job. Well, after the coffee (even if she did have to make that herself).

“A doctor Rory works with sometimes.  Martha, I think.  We met at the hospital Christmas party.”  Granted, it had been a thirty-second introduction, but James need never know that. “Would you like me to introduce you?” She asked innocently, sure of his response.

He spluttered at the idea for a moment, before making his decision.  “No.  I’m the owner of this fine establishment, I think it’s my right, nay, my duty to introduce myself to regulars.”

Nodding to himself, pleased with his decision, James had just started taking off his apron when he saw the women in question rise and start to pack their things just as several more customers walked up to order.

Turning to make the drinks Amy couldn’t help but laugh, making a note to the share the story with Rory and Donna.

James was never going to live this down.

-

That close call having been Thursday, he had to wait out the entire weekend until Tuesday for another chance.  He’d spent those four days practicing what he would say, and felt fairly confident he wouldn’t make an (utter) fool of himself.

However, the afternoon hours of Tuesday slowly ticked by, until when he locked the door behind the last customer he had to admit to himself she wouldn’t be coming in that day.

Wednesday was spent in a morose slump, with Amy occasionally sending him a faux-sympathetic look.

When Thursday came and went without her again, James began to work himself into a full blown panic, the only benefit of which was Amy had ceased teasing him about how his head would jerk towards the door every time the bell chimed.

(Which was fine; she was running out of Pavlov jokes anyway.)

The abnormal behavior from the usually bright and sunny cashier/proprietor had even regulars worried, some of whom would go so far as to ask Amy about it, but all she would say was ‘girl trouble’ and they would share knowing smiles.

Thus, it seemed the entire store breathed a sigh of relief on the second Tuesday when the woman walked through the doors at her usual time.

By now, James had given up looking, and was quietly serving customers without actually looking at them, all spark of life gone.  Amy had seen the woman come in, and rather than giving him a heads up, had merely maneuvered herself closer to be able to experience the moment James realized his mystery girl had finally returned.

“Yeah?”  James sighed at the next customer, despondent.  His thoughts were a million miles away, worried about the woman.  Had she moved?  Was she ill? For all he knew, she could be lying dead in an alley, or a Jane Doe in a hospital bed somewhere…

“You all right, mate? You don’t seem yourself.”  It took a moment for her voice to sink in, but it hit him all at once and his head snapped up.

“You’re okay!”  Relief flooded him, followed quickly by horror and embarrassment at the confused look on her face.

“Yeah, I’m fine?”

He practically fell over himself in a bid to explain.  “No – sorry – it’s just, you haven’t been in – not that I was keeping tabs – but I was worried – er, I just mean, it seemed odd that – well, it’s none of my business, I suppose – though, it kind of is, since you usually order so many muffins – not that you have an obligation, or anything, of course-”

Mercifully, Amy had finally elbowed him out of the way and managed to stop his runaway gob.

“What James is trying to say is that we have a fair number of regulars, and he had noticed you hadn’t been in at all last week.  He was worried.”  Amy smiled kindly at the woman, who grinned back uncertainly.

“I appreciate that – I think – but I was away on business last week and couldn’t make it in.”  She explained.

James was mesmerized by the way she pushed a lock of hair back off her face.  It took another sharp jab from Amy to remind him it was his turn to speak.

“Uh…”  He swallowed hard.  “Well, glad to hear that you’re fine.”  Unable to stop himself, he ruffled his hair, pleased when the mystery woman’s eyes followed his hand.

“Thanks.  James, was it?”

“Uh, yeah – yes. James.  Noble.  Cashier.” He nodded proudly, before realizing how that maybe hadn’t sounded as impressive as he’d meant it to.  “And owner!  And, uh, owner.  Here. Of this shop.  Bigger on the Inside.”  Despite his embarrassment at stumbling over his words, he was pleased when she laughed.

“Nice to meet you, James the Noble Cashier.”  She replied cheekily.  “You probably already know this from my order, but I’m Rose.”

His eyes lit up, and Amy had to cover her laugh with a severe cough when she realized that that fact had honestly never occurred to him.  He was in deep.

“Rose.”  He whispered, almost reverently, savoring the word on his tongue.  He cleared his throat before adding, at a much more normal tone, “That’s a beautiful name.”

“Thanks.”  The conversation stalled there, with the two simply gazing at each other.  Eventually Amy interrupted, seeing that the line was starting to build.

“Rose, your usual?”

“Oh!”  Moment broken, Rose turned to her.  “Uh, yes, please and thank you, Amy.”  She lingered in front of James for a moment, before remembering she hadn’t yet paid.

“Um, this is silly considering I’m always in here, but I’m a bit jetlagged – what do I owe you?”

James just barely managed to respond through his daze.  “Nothing – on the house.”

“Are you sure?”  She still tried to hand over a few bills, but he insisted, coming back to himself a bit more.

“Absolutely.  And, how about I bring you a muffin in a few?”  He offered, and she smiled.

“Well, if you insist.”

“I do.”

“Okay, thanks!”  She agreed, and they just smiled at each other until the impatient man behind her had enough, and cleared his throat loudly.

“Right, I’ll just…” Rose trailed off, gesturing vaguely towards her usual table.

“Yep!”

Working faster than he ever had before, spring back in his step, James quickly dealt with the line and called to his table waitress.

“Clara, I’m taking a break – watch the register, will you?”

Not waiting for a response, he plated a banana nut muffin and brought it over to his – to Rose.

He was only standing in front of her a moment before she looked up from her binder, and gestured for him to sit.

“Thanks.  Uh, brought you a muffin.  Banana nut.”

“Thank you!”  She immediately dove into the muffin. “Honestly, these are the best banana nut muffins I’ve ever had.  I don’t know how you do it.”

“Well, I could tell you, but it’ll cost you.”  He bravely flirted, honestly surprised that the words had come out intelligible and in the right order.

She eyed his speculatively. “Name your price.”

His brain short circuited, unable to believe the gorgeous woman was flirting back.

“Have dinner with me?”

She didn’t say anything for so long he was beginning to wonder if he’d said the words aloud.

“That seems like a fairly steep price for a recipe.”  She finally settled on, and he deflated like a popped balloon.

“Yes, I suppose it is. Well, if you’ll excuse me, I should, go, uh-”  He floundered, trying to get out of there with the remaining shreds of his dignity.

“Chips might be fair though.”  She blurted after he’d only gotten a few steps.

“What?”

“Chips seem like an equal trade.”  She began to nibble on her thumbnail, before seeming to realize what she was doing and dropping her hand.

“Now?”

She gave him an odd look. “Aren’t you working?”

“Well, yeah, but – boss.” For emphasize, he pointed at his chest.

She nodded seriously, a smile playing at the corner of her lips.

“I can’t right now, actually, but I’m free Friday at lunch time.”  She offered.

He quickly ran through his schedule in his head, but the truth was nothing could stop him from making that lunch.

“It’s a date.”  He froze, worried he’d been too presumptuous, but she cut him off before his gob could take off for the hills.

“The first of many, I hope.”

The blinding smile she gave him made him hope for the same.

Some things were worth waiting for.

[lastbluetardis]

Sanctuary

This was written for @blueboxesandtrafficcones as part of the @dwinboxbuddies event.

Nine x Rose, Ten x Rose

The first time she saw him in this room was right after their encounter with the Dalek. She’d shown Adam to a room he could use, then she went looking for him. After ten minutes of aimless wandering, she realized she’d been passing the same door again and again. When she opened it, she found a room of tall, red grass and trees with silver leaves that burned orange from the light glaring from two setting suns.

The Doctor had been lying in the grass, looking up at the sky. He’d glanced over at her when she walked in, and Rose had been about to turn away, thinking he wanted to be left alone, but he patted the ground beside him. She lay next to him, and both were silent. They were silent for hours, and when they left the room, the Doctor gave her a hug and a murmured, “Thank you.”

From then on, that little room had become their sanctuary. They’d visited it after her dad died, and the Doctor found her there after his regeneration. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they didn’t. Rose slowly came to know that this room was the only thing the Doctor had left of his home planet. Of Gallifrey. That this room was how the Doctor preserved it in his memories, unspoilt from War.

Now, Rose lay with her head on the Doctor’s chest, her eyes aching and itchy from her tears as she mourned the loss of her mum, locked away in a parallel world, never to be seen again. The Doctor stroked her hair and pressed the occasional kiss to her forehead as they lay beneath an indigo sky that sparkled with starlight. They didn’t speak, no words were needed, and they both took comfort in each other’s embrace as they lost themselves in their sanctuary.

[sequencefairy]

4/6 She’s nearly asleep again, lulled by his presence and his touch, when she feels the unmistakable pressure of a kiss being pressed to her brow. She doesn’t react, certain she imagined it, then it happens again, and she realises the Doctor is worse than before, shuddering slightly. She laces her fingers with his, pressing them to her cheek. “I dreamt about you.” His voice is even lower than before. “I couldn’t find you. I lost you.” “M ok, Doctor. You saved me. I’m not going anywhere.”💖sibb

⅚ He laughs a little, broken. They’re tiptoeing around the subject of her mortality. He’s gotten a taste of what it’ll be like, and Rose resigns herself to the inevitable. “You will,” he says. “But.” Her chest swells with hope. “When I saw your face on that screen, all I could think was that I might never be able to tell you how beautiful you are.” Now it’s her turn to stop breathing. “I’m done,” the Doctor says. Her stomach drops, but then. “I should have learned my lesson in Rome.”💖sibb 

Oooo. This is so sweet and so lovely and omg, I’m so happy. 

[shakingshore]

(NinexRose 1/2) John bumped into a familiar blonde on his way up to his flat. “Oh! Hi, Rose.” He gave her his usual daft smile. Rose bit her lip and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Hi, John.” John looked over her shoulder in search of her usual shadow. “Where’s your boyfriend?” A dark look washed over her features. “Jimmy? He dumped me.” “Oh?” John tried to act nonchalant. He’d had a crush on his beautiful neighbor for ages. Rose nodded sadly. “Well, he’s an idiot,” John said.

(2/2) “Why would he dump the prettiest woman in London?” Rose met his eye as he snapped his jaw shut, feeling like a total fool. “You think I’m pretty?” “I think you’re gorgeous.” She smiled wide, tucking her tongue between her teeth. “Do you wanna get chips?” “Absolutely.” A thrill ran through his body when she grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the building. He didn’t realize until they got to the chippie that he had no money. But Rose just laughed and told him he’d get the next date. ~IBB

thank u for this sweetness buddy omG

[disinfandous]

in the aftermath of an injury

I’m finally giving in and posting the only multi-part fic I wrote for my inbox buddy that I’m really okay with. This is for the @dwinboxbuddies​ event.

I’m just gonna keep it in the structure I sent it in for that ~authentic askbox fic experience~ (and also bc if I reformat it there’s absolutely NO DOUBT my perfectionism will get the better of me and I’d edit it and write more and the cycle will NEVER END)

Ten x Rose

“I’m fine! Stop fussing,” the Doctor whined, trying to pull himself away from Rose’s reach. Rose frowned and just dragged him even closer. “You call this ‘fine’?” she asked, gesturing to the bloody mess that stained his clothes. He had wounds on both his head and his torso, having not left unscathed from their capture. The Doctor sniffed. “I can just fix it myself in the TARDIS,” he said. Rose could only sigh. "Yeah? And where's the TARDIS, then?" (⅕ IBB)

The Doctor paused, avoiding her eyes. "Probably right where we left it," he mumbled. Rose dug a napkin out of her pocket and began dabbing at the blood on his cheek. "You mean before we got chucked in jail, right, Doctor?" she challenged, and he flinched. From her actions or her words, she couldn't tell. "Yeeeaaah... Yep. That's right," he said. "And I'm sure it's not far, so you could just, y'know, let me go and—" "No." "No?" "No." “Not even—” “No.” "Oh.” (⅖ IBB)

“Why won’t you let me help you?” Rose asked, exasperated. "You clearly got the worst of it and it just makes sense, doesn't it? I've even got some bandages." She met his eyes with an imploring look that had him squirming in place, but he didn't answer. After a beat of fruitless silence, she continued, voice softening, "Doctor... I can't just not care. It matters to me when you’re injured. I know you've got 'superior biology' or whatever, but cuts and stuff still hurt, don't they?" (⅗ IBB)

Something in his eyes shifted, and the tension in posture slowly eased away. "Yeah. They do," he admitted. "Sorry, Rose. I was just, well... being an idiot." Rolling up his sleeves and wincing at the friction, the Doctor held himself at her mercy. "Should've known I couldn't hide anything from you. Especially not with all the bleeding," he chuckled. "I thought I'd at least be able to downplay it a bit so you wouldn't worry." Rose shook her head. "You just made me worry more!" (⅘ IBB)

“Thank you,” the Doctor said. Rose looked up at him, witnessing the affection pooling in his eyes. Her heart stuttered and she instinctively smiled at him, pulling a smile from him as well. “You’re welcome, you silly Time Lord.” (5/5 IBB)