#tentoo salt

[sallysellsseashellssundays]

I hate to keep being so salty about Moffat’s era b/c RTD’s first era did have some things I didn’t like but man RTD was a freaking genius at weaving so much emotion and heart into his stories while still keeping it sci-fi

I mean we had arcs for soooo many characters it’s actually kind of crazy when you think about it, and I’m not just talking about Nine, Ten/Tentoo, Rose, Martha and Donna

The companions families as well--positive and negative b/c I’m still not over how difficult it must have been for Martha’s family after their year with the Master. But Jackie and Pete had their happily ever after (and a baby), Mickey grew so much, Sylvia seemed to have a bit of a change of heart regarding Donna at the end, Wilf was fabulously Wilf (we saw their families so many times on screen!!)

Like think about how wild it is that I know Mickey was raised by his gran, I remember Martha warning her brother Leo and he was walking with a gf/wife/partner? pushing a baby stroller, Martha’s dad had a gf who I think was called Annalise and there was drama about that cheating scandal...I know so much about characters that aren’t really the main companions in comparison to, for example, Amy and Rory

We had arcs for “minor” characters like Cassandra, Harriet Jones, Adam, The Face of Boe, the Slitheen that took over Margaret, even Jake from Pete’s World

We had a connection between Gwyneth and Gwen with the explanation as to why they look the same, same for the explanation as to why Tosh was there in S1

We had what was essentially like an origin story for the Ood in S4 when they had first been introduced in S2

Jack had his own spinoff, I haven’t watched Classic Who but Sarah Jane was incredible in what I’ve seen of her own spinoff too

Even though there’s some things I don’t like about Journey’s End the reason it was so exciting to see was b/c of the culmination of so many characters that had so much backstory coming together. Come on we even had a reference to Mr. Copper from the “Voyage of the Damned” special since he funded the Sub-Wave Network! Incredible, just incredible. 

[ugsomebeauty]

A Disagreeable Heat [T] - Tentoo x Rose fic

Summary:

Rose is pregnant and experiencing hot flashes. The Doctor must deal with the consequences of this, in mid-November. “Time was that I’d have to be pressing you to the fridge to get that look from you,” tongue flicking across his lips. “And look where it got me.”

Word count: 1,194

Read on AO3

Notes:

Response to a prompt on a previous account in another fandom: Paraphrasing an Anonymous ask: Every woman experiences hot flashes during her pregnancy at least once. Except things are a bit different for [Rose]; she’s been experiencing them quite frequently and everyone at [home] is dealing with the repercussions. (I just have this image of [her] walking out in nothing but a pair of shorts and an undersized tank top and [the doctor] walking out in a hoodie (with a long sleeved t-shirt underneath) and heavy pajama pants and socks bc she won’t let him turn the heat on

A Disagreeable Heat

Two months, he thinks, has never seemed longer than it does right now. It is November in the London suburbs and winter has truly arrived. Frosty mornings and dark evenings that begin mid-afternoon. Their home is lavish enough thanks to their jobs, and a hand from Pete, that it is perpetually comfortable in its warmth. Yet here he is in fleece pyjama bottoms, sweatshirt and a long sleeved shirt he’s glad Rose didn’t throw out in a fit of homemaking. He’s pondering if the early arrival of their first child would be that bad. Just another two months.

At that moment Rose strides from the living room with purpose, straight to the kitchen fridge for a chilled bottle of water touching it to her chest, releasing a moan the Doctor previously believed only he could provoke. Really, it’s the stuff of dreams. Rose Tyler clad in tiny sleep shorts, showing just enough of her bum to keep his mind occupied with thoughts of taking her back to bed. She’s sporting one of her strappy vest tops, tighter now than ever before as it stretches across her 7 month pregnancy bump and swollen breasts, leaving the bottom half of her stomach bare.

All in all it leaves little to the imagination (not that the Doctor has to imagine). The sheen of perspiration across her chest and brow with the flushed colour of her cheeks - he knows precisely how he wants to warm up.

“Not getting any cooler, huh?” he enquired with a gentle tone. This is the 18th hour of her latest hot flash and he knows she’s reaching the end of her tether with discomfort. 

Rose’s brow raises, mid-gulp of her chilled refreshment and rolls her eyes. Swallowing, she rubs her hand across the exposed portion of her belly before leaning back against the fridge and sighing, eyelids fluttering shut at contact with the cool metal. 

“Time was that I’d have to be pressing you to the fridge to get that look from you,” tongue flicking across his lips. She does look gorgeous, all flushed and heavy with his child, nipples puckering against the overstretched top she wears.

“And look where it got me.” Glancing down to her stomach before appraising the Doctor’s attire, Rose sighs, this time with discontent, “I’m almost sorry, you look cold.”

“Almost?” he asks with a glint in his eye making his way towards her.

Peeling herself from the fridge, Rose meets him halfway by the breakfast bar. With her arms wrapping behind his neck, she drops a kiss to his lips having to fully extend on tip toe to reach around the bump. She affirms, ”Almost.”

The Doctor’s brow raises now. His hands smoothing down her sides, taking in the heat of her taut skin and feeling sympathetic.

“You did knock me up after all. It’s kinda your penance.”

There it is, the humour that she has lost much of through heat induced moods. A smirk playing across her lips as she meets his eyes through feathery lashes and another swig on her bottle. It makes her tilt her head back, exposing her neck and he can’t resist quickly planting a kiss there. She feels hot beneath his lips too, the slight tang of salt left lingering.

“If I do recall - and I tend to remember these things - you were a more than willing participant at the time,” smugness colouring his tone once more, before meeting her eyes. She doesn’t look impressed and her skin feels more like it’s mid-July, “But I am sorry that you’re in this situation,” a hand tightens on her waist, where it used to curl around her but now lies flat beside their growing child, “Rose, if there’s anything I can do, you know I will.”

“Open all the windo-”

“I’m afraid I’ll get hypothermia if we open any more, not to mention the TARDIS. Thermal shock wouldn’t be ideal for her in this growth stage.”

“We can wrap her up. Hell, we can put her down my top,” Rose whines, feeling fully pathetic but more than ready to regulate her own temperature once more.

An idea pops into the former Time Lord’s mind, hoping late night internet research would pay off just one of these times. Pulling her a little closer so her belly brushes his lower torso, “What about- don’t you think this is the perfect opportunity for a bath, hmm?” His eyes twinkled with hope.

She can’t think of anything worse, scrunching her nose, “Absolutely not.” Pushing away from him she begins heading back to the bedroom where she was sprawled across the empty bed, “Doctor, I might pass out if I have to smother in warm water with you touching me.”

He sniffs at the insult before trailing behind her belatedly like a puppy, “Oi!”

“Sorry, just, cannot put up with any additional… heat sources, right now.” She turns to face him as she sits on the edge of the bed, placing down her water.

The Doctor nods in understanding and considering carefully before he elaborates. Lingering in the doorway he watches as Rose picks at her top, pinging the overworked fabric against her skin in an attempt to get a draft. 

“Except,” he draws out, “I could run you a nice temperate bath, nothing hot, just the perfect temperature for your body and you can lay there as long as it takes for you to self-regulate again.” That garners a look from her. He knows that look. It’s the look she gives him when he suggests something in bed that she wants to try but also wants to make him squirm a bit first.

“Isn’t that just tempting hypothermia for the baby, submerging my bump in cold water?” Her hands have begun stroking her bump in a much loved subconscious tick she has developed on late. Oh Rose.

This time he can help, he has the answers and he thanks deities real and not, that Google exists. His persistence with researching every single little bit of information has finally paid off.

“You’re in luck,” he moves towards her, “You married yourself a Time Lor-” the look, he’s getting the look now, “A man with an expansive knowledge and some fun genetic additions, which means my tinkering with the hot water system - that you once derided - will come in handy at maintaining a delightful 37 degrees for as long as it takes you to do the same.”

Rose is a little skeptical but he knows he’s onto a winner as she starts getting herself to the edge of the bed to get up. Before he can move to offer his hand she’s up and peeling the skin tight top over her head.

She shoots him a determined look, hair falling everywhere while the vest hits the floor, “I knew the gold digging would pay off,” a bright smile, the first he’s seen in days, “Get the bath running then!”

The Doctor hops to it, happy that he may finally have a solution for his wife’s discomfort. As he crosses into the bathroom, he swears he hears the breathless addition of the words, “Sugar daddy.”

He’s so onto a winner.

[demdifferentstories-29]

Fear (Doctor Who (2005) fanfiction)

Story Summary

After the Empire of the Wolf, the Doctor confides to Rose about the fears her disappearance inspired.

1/1 chapters. For the Tentoo x Rose Microfic Challenge; @tentoorosemicrofics

Prompts: Worry; memories.

Rating: Teen

Pairing: Metacrisis Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler

Word Count: 1086

Chapter Content/Tags: Scars/past injuries; hurt/comfort; angst.

Link (AO3), or read below!

Story

A few hours after Rose disappeared and then came back home in a great flash of light, her husband was holding her in their bed. His fingers traced her bare spine and skin as he gazed over her in the pale moonlight, a soft smile on his lips as he thought her beautiful. Even after all these years, with a child born, wrinkles just starting to appear around her eyes and mouth to echo her gorgeous smile, the cellulitis and stretch marks lingering, and her form maturing, his Rose was still as breath-taking and enchanting as she had been when he first encountered her nineteen-year-old-self. The gradual entrance into being a middle-aged woman had not diminished his Rose’s exquisiteness. No — it had enhanced it, like fine wine.

Rose was also stroking her husband, feeling where all the tension was still settled in his body with the gentle prodding of her fingertips. It was a surprise, really. When Mia set off to stay the night at a girlfriend’s place after dinner, the Doctor had practically dragged her into their bedroom and made love to her repeatedly until they were where they are now — collapsed and exhausted in a cuddle. Usually, an orgasm from his wife had been the quick solution to any tension he experienced in the over ten years they’d been together on Pete’s World, but not tonight, it seemed.

“What’s the matter?” she murmured in the silent darkness, now brushing her fingers around his hairline on his forehead, admiring his own light wrinkles that were apparent. She could also see a grey hair or two and fancied the idea of having a silver fox of a husband, knowing he’d suit the salt and pepper look so well.

“Hm?” he hummed back to her, quirking a brow. She licked her lips, shifting beneath the sheets a little and drawing them further up her shoulders to shield herself from the cold as the sweat layered on her body grew uncomfortable with her temperature now back to normal. He noticed this and drew her closer into his embrace, wanting to keep his wife warm and happy.

“You’re still tense,” she pointed out, searching within his eyes for the answer. He still had that ancient look, but the walls had weakened and eventually lowered in this universe and you could see feeling more clearly in them now as well. He didn’t hold his cards so close to his chest anymore and allowed people to sense and see his emotions, especially Rose. He had made a point of saying that in his vows. But sometimes, like now, he brought those defences right back up in an act of protection and self-preservation. It didn’t offend her and never would — it was a mechanism that had been drilled into him for hundreds of years and it would take a very long time for him to be fully free of that. “And… well, when you insisted we head to the bedroom, I knew something was up,” she teased lightly, grinning at the sight of his ‘you got me’ smirk. Passionate, frequent shagging wasn’t uncommon for them, but the way he looked at her and the desperation filled in his touches and movements were silent confessions.

The Doctor sucked in a breath, the smile leaving his lips as he took a moment to cohere all his thoughts and… blimey, gather the confidence to be so vulnerable with Rose about this. Of course he knew he could be so with her, but it was still scary to admit such personal struggles and fears after all this time.

“Uh, today was a bit too close to home for my liking,” he explained in a rather awkward, embarrassed tone, scratching the back of his neck. “Made me think of… Torchwood and…” he trailed off, his voice growing tight and the ability to talk crashing fast as the need to cry quickly sprung up on him. Rose didn’t need any elaboration — she knew exactly what he was referring to.

“Oh, love, I’m so sorry,” she whispered, drawing him into a tight hug, stroking his hair and just holding him. “I didn’t mean to. Oh, love.” 

That day, and their time apart, was something the couple never really moved on from. Almost losing Rose to the Void, and then dealing with the fact that they were separated for, what they knew at the time was, eternity had killed the both of them on the inside. It was a pain and a hurt that didn’t start to heal until their reunion, but even then, the fleetingness of their human life was a quiet reminder that they could so easily lose each other again.

“Just… just watching you disappear like that was horrifying,” he choked out, his tears spilling onto her shoulder and trickling down her skin. Her heart broke at the sensation as she cradled his trembling form, cooing to him softly.

When the Doctor saw Rose vanish in that bright light, it was a very distinct and uncanny reminder of the image of Pete catching her before whisking her away to their current world. It was a sick, cruel play on their trauma and it made him want to crumble away. But he knew he couldn’t, so he put all of his energy into distracting himself and pushing down the pure desire to just fall apart. The last time he’d let himself do that, in front of Donna with the Racnoss children, it was a dark feeling that felt so good because it numbed his agony. He did it because he was alone and had no consequence.

This time, he knew his wife would return and that he had his daughter to take care of too, so he packed it all away.

And now, in the safety of his wife’s arms, he let all of that emotion pour out.

“I know, I know,” she soothed, pressing a kiss to his hair and rubbing small circles into his skin. “But I came back, yeah? You didn’t lose me again — I just had to do something,” she reminded him. And like that, he stilled and calmed in her presence with her words of authority. He was a man devoted and entranced, taking her wisdom as the Holy Grail; his personal Bible. 

He lifted up his head and gazed at her with wet eyes, smoothing away a few of her own that started to race down her cheeks.

“That’s right, Rose Tyler,” he whispered with a trembling smile. “I didn’t lose you.”

[timespace]

omg no I agree I haven't watched the episode (I just skipped to the end to see the regeneration) so take everything with a pinch of salt but god. I wanted so bad to see someone new and now. it's just 10 again :/ it's not interesting it's not funny it's not doing it for me. also I feel like it takes attention from ncuti now which sucks

literally!!! congratulations on ten2 (not to be confused with tentoo) ig but im not interested thank you 👍

[friendamedes]

whats your craziest dw opinion??

AWWW i assume this is amber hello amber!!! if it isn’t hello mysterious anon! FEAR HER IS GOOD, ACTUALLY. And Empty Child/Doctor Dances suffer from the fact that Moffat can bullshit episodes but sucks at characterization and they aren’t as good as people think they are. 

(also, tentoo is awful)

[sherl-grey]

3, 5 and 22 for the writing ask game, please 🖊😁

hi meg, i hope you're having a fantastic day! 🥰💗

3) what order do you write in? front of book to back? chronological? favorite scenes first? something else?

depends on the fic! there've been a couple ("your light it follows me in darkness," "this christmas i'll give you a star," etc.) that i wrote end first or middle first, or jumped around while writing. i've got the beginning 10 chapters of "the weight of words" and then like, chapter 49, which is so stupid because i'll absolutely need to rewrite that if i ever even get there. usually i try to go front to back mostly because i don't actually plan things, and jumping around with no outline gets tricky and dangerous

5) character you were most surprised to end up writing

this one's been answered but since it's you i have to say it again since you'll understand--tentoo in "love don't roam, but occasionally it wanders off" because really, how can someone with this much JE salt end up writing tentoo?? life's wild haha

22) are there any subjects that make you uncomfortable to write?

kids/OCs, human AUs (less so that i'm uncomfortable and moreso I just suck), and i honestly haven't written anything that would require any "darker" tags but i imagine those would make me uncomfortable. and kissing or further intimacy just makes me self-conscious

[darth-tella]

Rose Tyler! Defense of the Universe! Bad Wolf extraordinaire! Director of Special Ops in Torchwood! ..... doesn't like spiders AT ALL and would absolutely refuse to deal with them unless she absolutely HAS TO and EVEN THEN she'd rather shoot a hole through her bathtub with her gun to get rid of it than look at it. "It's not arachnophobia, I just don't like them!" Tentoo deals with any obviously but without FAIL always endlessly teases her about it.

Now this is where things can get interesting. See, spiders in Pete’s World are completely different than they were in the Prime Universe. Tentoo could just read about them from an encyclopaedia but having live specimens to study? How can any scientist worth their salt give up such an opportunity?

So Tentoo humanely removes the spiders from the flat, or that’s what Rose thought was happening. In truth he’d been putting them in a custom built terrarium (okay, it was a mason jar full of dirt and sticks and stuff) so he can observe them. Rose absolutely flips out when she finds the spider filled jar that was tucked into the corner of a rarely used cupboard. If not for Tentoo’s quick reflexes, the jar would have smashed open on the floor. Rose’s threat of: “get rid of those things or else you’re sleeping on the couch for the rest of your life” works and Tentoo does release the spiders into a field miles away as he can’t bring himself to kill them.

He also preemptively gets rid of the jars of all the other insects he’d been collecting that Rose had never found.

Rose also finds out that Tentoo is terrified of snakes (a fear of Donna’s that he inherited) and hides a rubber one under his pillow.

Send me your Tentoo x Rose headcanons

[gretchenzellerbarnes]

Doctor Who Current Theory

Just to be clear, I've got several theories on just what the hell is going on with Doctor Who at the moment; mindwipes, alternate realities (which Chibnall has vetoed, but I’m taking this with a pinch of salt until the finale airs), clones, The Master, The Rani or River Song in disguise. 

Hell for all we know Ruth!Doctor could be either Tentoo (the Metacrisis Doctor) or Donna Noble regenerated?

Ok, so Gallifreyan history remembers three of the founding fathers of their society; Rassilon, Omega and The Other, so-called because no one remembers The Other’s real name.

Omega apparently died harnessing the power of a deliberately collapsed star which gave the Time Lords the ability to time travel, leaving Rassilon and The Other in charge. The Other was stuck on Gallifrey trying to make sure Rassilon didn’t become a despot when really all they just wanted to explore the universe. Sound familiar?

According to the Seventh Doctor novel Lungbarrow (which you can find here since copies currently sell for £800+ on eBay/Amazon), at the very beginning of Time Lord society, Gallifrey was cursed with sterility and developed genetic redistribution devices called Looms to reproduce (similar to the progenation machine used to create Jenny from the Tenth Doctor in the episode ‘The Doctor’s Daughter’).

Lungbarrow (basically, the novelisation of the ‘Cartmel Masterplan’) revealed that The Other threw themself into the Looms due to a squabble with Rassilon (I don’t want to give away too much if anyone wants to read the novel. SPOILERS!) and was reincarnated millions of years later as The Doctor. This would have been revealed on-screen during Sylvester McCoy’s run, had the series not been cancelled in 1989 (there were hints the Seventh Doctor remembered their previous life as The Other during Season 25 (1988)).

So, my theory is that Ruth!Doctor is The Other, existing millions of years before The Doctor.

What if The Other finally gave in to the urge to explore the universe and ran away from Gallifrey, and the responsibility of keeping Rassilon sane. What if Rassilon sent Gat either to execute Ruth!Doctor/The Other because they knew something damaging about the true origin of Time Lord society?

This would explain why the Thirteenth Doctor can’t remember Ruth!Doctor, why the sonic screwdriver recognises them as the same person, and their differences in their attitudes towards weapons. 

In some accounts (because Doctor Who ‘canon’ is not like Star Wars canon, it’s timey-wimey; some parts of time are fixed, they must always happen and others are fluid and can be rewritten, and sometimes the writers decide I do what I want) Rassilon supposedly discovered regeneration and introduced it to Time Lord biology presumably through genetic manipulation. Rassilon also decided on the twelve regeneration limit (rude!).

However, in ‘A Good Man Goes To War’, Vastra states The Doctor had told her Time Lords evolved the ability to regenerate through their exposure to the Time Vortex.

Like this awesome theory, I think the ability to regenerate came from the Timeless Child, who could have been an ordinary Gallifreyan (or The Doctor themself), and the Time Lords exploited this child, and stole regeneration from them, and covered it up.

For all we know, Ruth!Doctor had been living with this whole lie all her lives, until discovering the truth in this incarnation and deciding to do something about it.

[casual-eumetazoa]

Finally got my hands on the Target Storybook and rushed to read the Rose&Tentoo story, since, despite my best efforts to avoid spoilers, I’ve already seen a lot of opinions on Tumblr. I read the entire thing yesterday and I must say... I don’t get why there is so much salt.

Like don’t get me wrong, you’re definitely entitled to your own opinion and should feel free to rant about it in the tags (having different opinions is what makes it interesting to be in a fandom - as long as people are respectful), but I genuinely don’t get what is wrong with that story.

First of all, it’s a good story? Like can we step back for a second and just appreciate the plot and the characterization and the beautiful writing style. Jenny T Colgan is great. If you haven’t read “In The Blood” and “Dark Horizons” yet - highly recommend.

Second, I don’t understand why so many people assume that Tentoo would be exactly like the Tenth Doctor. Somewhat like him, sure, but I agree with Colgan here - he is not the Doctor. Even just because his physiology, including brain physiology, is completely different. You’d think that personality transcends brain structure but in fact brain structure is your personality. Honestly I would expect him to be even more different, and to lose most of his old memories. Human brains aren’t adapted for carrying that much information. Remember Ashildr/Me?

And considering that “the Doctor” is not a name but a title of sorts that he gave to himself as a reminder, I’d think it perfectly reasonable to leave the name behind to signify a new start. Just as the Warrior didn’t call himself the Doctor, it makes sense that this person would abandon the title as well. When it comes to the specific name... eh, I don’t like what Colgan went with either, and I think Tentoo would take “John” just out of sheer habit, or perhaps try to make up a human-sounding version of his given name... but that’s just minor details.

And third, I’ve seen a lot of people saying “this is not my canon”, or expression the same notion in different words, and... yeah? Of course? I mean, do we really believe in capital C Canon in this fandom? I thought not. I was under the impression that Doctor Who is so vast and complicated and contradicts itself so often that the only canon is just whatever you think fits. Very often I find myself exploring “canon” (as in, BBC sanctioned) DW content and just dismissing things out of hand because I don’t like it. And that’s normal. I don’t consider some things that happened in the actual TV show canon! So of course you can completely ignore that story. It’s literally just one interpretation done by one person.

I think that deciding to produce this book was a bold decision on part of the BBC/DW team, because providing official content for these gaps in the story that were intentionally left blank is a double-edged sword. On one hand there are people who hate open-ended finales and yearn for some sort of closure, and they are likely to enjoy that sort of content. On the other, when creators leave gaps they are directly encouraging people to fill them in with whatever the audience thinks is best - and then coming back several years later with “haha nevermind this is how it actually happened” can feel shitty, since many people will feel like their own ideas and headcanons are being erased.

My solution for this is - if the content isn’t for you, don’t consume it! Or consume it maybe, and then cancel it out. Decide for yourself that it doesn’t count. In Doctor Who, that is completely normal. And please remember that this was a story by one single writer, a writer who, to my knowledge, has never been involved with the main show. So she is likely a fan, like all of us, writing fanfic. Yes it is fanfic paid for by the BBC, and a fanfic that perhaps seems more official than what we post on AO3, but it’s still just that. And I’m not saying fanfic as an insult, I’m a fic writer myself. I’m just saying... this is one person’s version of what happened. It’s not some uber-official BBC law. 

So the same rules of fanfiction reading apply - if something is not your cup of tea, just move on? Again, not saying you aren’t allowed to rant about it, since I very much understand that this to some feels like a violation of their vision. But just remember that this was Colgan’s vision, and she is allowed to have her headcanons too. So maybe direct your frustration at the story (or even at the BBC for deciding to do this) rather than at the author. She is, in some ways, a fic writer like many of us, and she didn’t do anything wrong. She isn’t a bad writer or a bad person just for seeing things differently from you, and she doesn’t have the same power as RTD or Moffat or Chibnal. 

And again, if you abstract from all that, withhold your own headcanons for a little while, and try to just appreciate the story... it’s a good story y’all. 

[rainnawarmcuppa]

Captain Envy (3/?)

Summary: Steve Rogers hadn’t met anyone more beautiful than Peggy Carter. Until he met Rose Tyler, that is. All Events occur after Winter Soldier. Steve/Rose Centric. Mentions of Tentoo/Rose.

Steve Rogers X Rose Tyler

This Chapter: ~1614 words, Teen

Start from the beginning: Ch. 1

AO3

The team spent the rest of the day in Torchwoods American bunker, each of them biding their time after their respective tests by poking around the many different rooms. Steve was pleased with the fact that they weren’t being barred by security clearance and being allowed into whichever room they so pleased. Shields abundance of red tape had bothered him to no end.

Now, however, as he wandered from room to room, speaking with the other Torchwood agents, he was beginning to wonder over his chances with Rose. He seemed to catch the Doctor at every corner he turned. Whether it be a commemorative photo, an award, or even an informative hologram of the man himself. He was standing at one such terminal now, staring at the man and startled by the amount of awareness the program seemed to have.

“Well, hello! My names the Doctor! Do you have any questions or can I direct you anywhere in the facility, perhaps?”

Steve frowned slightly, trying hard not to draw any comparisons, but doing so anyway. The Doctor was barely shorter than him with dark brown hair and deep brown eyes. They couldn’t have been more dissimilar. The Doctor was the brains, whereas he was all brawn. He could see how he and Rose fit together, he supposed. His brain conjuring the image of them hand in hand before quickly shaking it away.

“Are you alright?” The Doctor asked, his brow furrowed as he looked up and down the hall as if he was searching for someone, “Do you need me to get you the med bay?’

The Captain raised his brow as he quickly responded, “No, sir, all good over here. If it wouldn’t be to forward of me though, might I ask some personal questions? I mean, I’m not sure if you’re even programmed to do that –“

The Doctor cut him off quickly, “Of course! Depends on what kind of personal question though.”

“I’d just like to know a little bit about you, sir. You founded Torchwood alongside Rose Tyler?” He asked.

A dreamy looked passed the Doctors face, a bright smile lighting it as he began to speak, “Yes! Rose Tyler and I came to this universe in 1932 and had founded the Torchwood Institute by late 1933. The American leg of our institute is very new, however. Just a wee five years old.”

Steve nodded his head before responding, “If it’s not too rude of me to ask, when and how did you pass, sir?”

“Oh, none of that ‘sir’ nonsense, the Doctor will do. And it’s not rude at all, common knowledge I thought. Then again, you must be pretty new, never seen your face before. Anyways! My flesh died in 1970 when I was shot by a HYDRA agent who had infiltrated our base in England.” He said in a very matter-of-fact tone.

Steve raised his brow as he asked, “Your flesh? What do you mean by that?”

“Transcendence, my boy! My Rose and I found a way for me to leave my mind and memory within the Torchwood systems. Really rather brilliant, if I do say so myself.” The Doctor responded as he tugged at the lapels of his suit.

He shifted from foot to foot, staring at the ghost of a man in front of him, “So, are you and Rose…?” he dragged the end out, not really wanting to voice the concern he had as he was afraid he might expose himself.

“Oh, Not anymore. We tried, for the first few years, didn’t work though. It’s amazing how much of a relationship requires human interaction and touch.” The Doctor said as he tugged on his ear.

Steve felt the relief settle over his body like a blanket, the tension flooding away from him. The awkwardness remained, however, as he thought about how whatever he may try to start with Rose would be overshadowed by her AI ex-husband. He was about to continue his questioning and try and get some backstory on Rose when she came down the corridor and interrupted him.

“Hello, Cap. I didn’t realize that you were still here.” She said with a smile. She stopped walking when she reached his side, settling an even distance between him and the Doctor.

“Just taking a look around the facilities, ma’am.” Steve responded as he tipped his head towards her.

“Hello, darling! I was just telling-“ The Doctor stopped short, directing his gaze at Steve once again, “I don’t believe I actually caught your name. I’m sorry. Incredibly rude of me.”

“Doctor, this is Steve Rogers. He also goes by Captain America.” She replied while throwing a wink in the Doctor's direction.

“No! The Captain America. Boy, what a day! Anyways, I was just telling him a little bit about myself.” The Doctor responded, bouncing lightly on his feet as if his body couldn't contain his energy.

Rose laughed, a tinkling sound that sent shivers down Steve’s spine and caused an involuntary smile to spread across his face before she spoke, “‘Course you were, you could tell stories all day. Got a gob on him, he does.”

“Not a problem, ma’am, I did ask a fair amount of questions,” Steve replied.

Rose looked at him and asked with a small smile on her face, “Would you like to grab lunch with me? I could murder a basket of chips.”

Steve was slightly startled by the sudden change of subject, but nodded his head anyways in assent, “Of course.”

She looked at the hologram and nodded her head, “I’ll catch up with you later. Hit me on the comm’s if there’s any trouble. “

He watched as the Doctor smiled before vanishing.

It didn’t take them long to reach the Irish pub after Roes changed into a pair of cargo pants and a t-shirt. It seemed as if she had chosen the Torchwood location because it had the diner so near. He figured he would have to ask her sometime, but he was trying to pay attention to what she was saying while not drawing attention to the way he was staring at her lips as she spoke.

“So, why didn’t you stick around and watch the rest of your team?” She asked as she doused her fries in malt vinegar and salt.

Steve was wondering how she stayed so thin if she ate stuff that greasy all the time when he responded, “I already know how everyone works in the field, ma’am. Besides, Mr. Stark had enough of an audience and I believe that his ego is as big as it needs to be.”

Rose nearly choked as she laughed around the fry in her mouth and he was beginning to get the sense that she didn’t laugh much anymore when she quieted down quickly.

“Do you do this often?”

A startled look crosses her face before she remembered to respond, “’m sorry?”

Steve gestured between them before asking, “Spend time with your team members? I’m used to the big man staying up in his office while the little men do the work.”

She chewed for a bit, scooting her fries around on the plate before replying, “’m not your run of the mill, head of a company type. The best way to avoid subterfuge is to know your team members individually. We may get a lot done, Mr. Rogers, but we are very few in numbers.”

“Steve, ma’am, you can call me Steve.”

Rose smiled coyly at him over her plate and he felt his heart skip a beat and an ache swell in his chest as she replied coolly, “Well, then you need to drop the ma’am and call me Rose. Never was much of a ma’am, makes me sound old.”

He reached a hand across the table, wetting his lips softly when she fit her soft hand in his own, “You got yourself a deal, Rose.”

“The Doctor and I, we never were ones for titles or salutes. ‘s just so – I don’t know, not us. It’s definitely not me.”

Steve laughed as he replied, “I think it takes an awful lot to start a company from the ground up, you both deserve respect.”

He was picking at his salad and trying hard not to stare at her too much when he continued, “Your skillset, it’s pretty amazing.”

He can tell she’s embarrassed, averting eye contact as she responded, “It’s all very simple. Just destruction of matter by breaking it down.”

“Still amazing in my book.” He said, stooping his head to try and catch her eye.

The rest of the dinner is small talk, where she grew up and how she was raised. They talk about him some, too. His past, his views, but they don’t go too deep. It’s nice, but it’s no first date he thinks.

When he flagged a cab down for her that night, he hesitated before shutting the door, weight shifting between one foot and the next as he tried to get his words out, “Hey, Rose, I was just wondering. Um- Do you think I could take you out sometime?”

Her face and voice are full of surprise when she looked at him from her lap, “What? Like – like a real date?”

“Yes. If that’s okay.” Steve responded meekly.

“Oh, um, yeah. Sure.” Rose said as a blush bloomed across her cheeks.

“Great, okay, I’ll call you then. We’ll make a date.” He said as he shut her door

“Right.” He saw the tiniest of smiles appear on her face as she rolled down her window when the cab began to slowly pull away, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Steve.” Rose responded, her voice airy and breathless.

[sequencefairy]

things you said but not out loud + doctor/rose

28) things you said but not out loud

[ Tentoo x Rose, immediately post-Journey’s End. Angst because I am me. ] 

It’s different now, Rose thinks, as she follows the new-new Doctor off the beach, the dying whine of the departing TARDIS drowned out by the pounding surf. She needed to know, she thinks, she needed to hear the words. 

It hadn’t been necessary before. she’d always known, but then they’d been separated for so long, battered by time and space and forces out of each other’s control, and Rose, well, she’s only human, she thinks, trudging up the dunes in this blue-clad Doctor’s wake. Anyway, it hadn’t really been a choice - the Doctor was going whether Rose or anyone else liked it or not. There’d never been any other option.

She can still hear his voice in her ear, the husky whisper of the words she’d wanted from the other man, the words she hadn’t realised she’d wanted until he wouldn’t give them to her, until she’d given them to him first, in tears, on this very beach. Rose pauses at the top of the dune to look back. The sand picked up by the wind stings where it hits her face, and the wind slides through her hair with greedy fingers. 

“Rose?” Rose turns at his voice, questioning and unsure. There was never this lack of confidence in either of her other Doctors, Rose notes, even when bewildered, they never let on. She wonders if this is a Doctor feeling or a Donna one. She knows from talking to Martha that the Doctor was the definition of Not Okay when Martha and he were travelling together. Rose herself has nightmares of him standing on a radio antenna, screaming at the sky, daring the lightning to strike, and she wasn’t even there. 

“Sorry, ‘m just–” Rose pauses, and gestures with her hand to encompass the beach before turning back towards him. He stands, hands shoved into the pockets of his pants, rocked a bit back on his heels. Rose looks him up and down - same legs, same face, same stupidly great hair, but her gaze catches on the differences - the hesitation in his posture, the way he’s chewing his bottom lip, the way his eyes keep sliding away from hers like he won’t quite look at her. 

Rose takes one last look at the sea. The steel grey sky is reflected in the water that is churning with breaking waves, pounding high up the beach and turning into spray against the rocks. This far north, the Atlantic is bone-chillingly cold and the wind off the water tastes like salt when she licks her lips. The tide is coming in and soon it will obliterate the mark the TARDIS made when it landed, and the only things she’ll have left of him are this man standing a careful four feet from her and the key that has gone cold and dead around her neck. 

Rose turns from the view and back towards the future she never had any say in and that she must now face. 

[askyofzeppelins]

Rose and Tentoo are planning their couple's costumes for a Vitex masquerade party

Tentoo: okaay.. Salt and pepper?

Rose: too obvious

Tentoo: got it. How abooouutt.. Ketchup and mustard?

Rose: well....

Tentoo: you don't like it

Rose: no, sorry

Tentoo: that's alright, i'm flexible

They share ideas, but none of the suggestions seems to fit what either of them have in mind

Rose: oh my god, i've got it!

Tentoo: that's great, do tell!

Rose: Sherlock Holmes and John Watson

Tentoo, after thinking about it for a short moment: yes, it's perfect! You're a short, adorable, sassy blonde

Rose: i know, right? And you're a tall, occasionally rude brunette

Tentoo: exactly!

Tentoo: wait, what

[fleurdeneuf]

my all time top 10 favorite fics

I saw this going around as a meme for another fandom (h/t @justkeeponthegrass), and the OP encouraged others to jump in, so let’s do this thing!

Choosing only ten fics was nearly impossible, and some of them would change depending on the day, but for now - here they are.  Most of these are old, from when I first started reading fic on Teaspoon, years before I’d heard of tumblr, let alone joined it.  These are the fics that have settled deep into my bones and are what I think of when I think of “fic.”  They shaped fandom and fic for me from the very beginning.

These are not in any ranked sort of order, aside from the order in which I thought of them, so it’s fitting that lilli and amber are at the top. :’)  As always, please heed all authors’ ratings/warnings.

1. Wolf Moon (Teaspoon | LJ) by throughanamberfocus (Teaspoon | LJ), 119k words (Alt!Nine/Rose, NSFW, post-Doomsday), first story in the Better With You series (Teaspoon | LJ), second story is Hunger Moon (Teaspoon | LJ).  (Several more stories were planned, but as yet unwritten.) 

Rose changed direction and went to answer her front door. She pulled the door open and looked at the man standing there. She took a step back and the glass of wine tumbled out of her hand and onto the carpet. She looked down at it in dismay. “That’s going to leave a stain,” she said. She glanced back up at the familiar, yet unfamiliar face in front of her. “Club soda and salt,” said that voice in that accent. She had never expected to hear that harsh Northern accent spoken from that particular throat ever again in her life. --Wolf Moon, Chapter 2

@thedalektables has a great round up post for this fic, if you want to know more of what’s coming.

See also: Leap of Faith (Fobwatched!Alt!Nine/Rose, NSFW, post-Doomsday, WIP) (Teaspoon | LJ) and the one shot that inspired it, Third Time’s the Charm (Teaspoon | LJ), the Bodies in Motion series (Nine/Rose, NSFW) (Teaspoon | LJ), The Zeppelins Verse (Tentoo/Alt!Rose, NSFW, post-Journey’s End) (Teaspoon | LJ), and everything else she’s ever written.

2. Passions Unspoken (Teaspoon | LJ) and its sequel, Out of the Woods (Teaspoon | LJ) by @lillibetm3 (Teaspoon | LJ) , 6k words (Nine/Rose, NSFW)

Stepping away from the doors, Rose turned and cast a covert glance to the Doctor, only to find that he was busy checking one of the console screens as if nothing had happened between them. In fact if it wasn't for the Time Lord shaped ache between her legs, and that her knickers were still on Canthan, (the Doctor had been quite determined that he wanted them off,) Rose could almost believe that she'd imagined the whole thing. --Out of the Woods

See also: Heart Shaped (Nine/Rose, NSFW, sex pollen) (Teaspoon | LJ ) , Strange Magicks (Nine/Rose, NSFW), Teach Me to Sin (Nine/Rose, NSFW, teacher/student), and everything else she’s ever written.

3. In Human Hands by rallalon (Teaspoon | LJ), 160k words (Nine/Rose, Human Nature UA, Abandoned)

"What’s your name?" he asks without meaning to, straightening to look at her once more. She pauses in the doorway of the garage, this small girl framed in the large entrance. The sunlight doesn’t so much hit her hair as stroke it, doesn’t so much strike her as kiss her bare shoulders. Maybe it’s the tank top that’s familiar or maybe it’s the smile. It could be nothing more than a well-known accent. But it’s definitely something. "I’m Rose," she says, stresses the second word as if she thinks he might be slow or as if she thinks he needs reminding of a crucial fact. It does sound like a reminder. Maybe she said before and he forgot. He’s not very good with names. "John Smith," he replies. "See you," she says and leaves and, much to his frustration, the engine continues to be temperamental for the rest of the day.

--In Human Hands, Chapter 1

Yes, I know it’s unfinished.  But it’s worth reading and getting your heart ripped out for, so read it anyway. 

See also: Non-Linear Love Story (Eight/Rose, Nine/Rose, Ten/Rose, NSFW) (Teaspoon | LJ)

4. Premium Quality Narcotics by Untempered Schism, 32k words (Nine/Rose, NSFW, post-Dalek), part of the Trajectory series.  The sequel is The Lift (set during The Long Game).

Rose blinked and nodded, her head swimming. She was having a difficult time getting a handle on which Doctor she was talking to at any given moment, the sensual tease who had centuries of sexual experience to draw upon for inspiration, the oh so lucid and serious goal-oriented physician trying to reassure her and heal himself, the sweetly innocent and giddy adoring man-child or the broken, reluctant and guilt-ridden ex-soldier with more PTSD than any being could reasonably hope to survive. They were all him, but he was cycling through personality fragments so fast it was hard to keep up. She inhaled deeply, pulling herself together and dashed the last trace her tears from her cheeks with trembling fingertips. --Premium Quality Narcotics, Chapter 2

See also: Designated Driver (Nine/Rose, NSFW, BDSM), One Street Away (Nine/Rose, Ten/Rose, NSFW) [If there were a story that could make me forgive and sympathize with Ten for what Rose goes through in School Reunion and GITF, this fic would be it.], Just One Universe Away (Nine/Rose, UA, NSFW, baby!fic), and all other Nine/Rose smut she’s ever written.

5. Tangled up in Blue (Teaspoon | LJ) by @jessalrynn (Teaspoon | LJ | FF) , 10k words (Nine/Rose, NSFW)

He looked like he'd been dipped in blue paint and then decorated and, while Rose could admire the results, she actually hated the artist with a passion. That this unknown person had gotten to trail a paint brush over her Doctor, picking out his details in gold and silver, trimming it all in fine black lines, and the occasional bright band of color, set her blood boiling. Rose deeply resented the unknown man or woman for having had both the audacity and the opportunity to do something she now dearly wished she'd thought of first. --Tangled up in Blue

See also: Handstands (Nine/Rose, NSFW) (LJ | FF), Never Quite Normal (Nine/Rose, UA, NSFW), co-written with Jabberwocky as Pairadox Timeline (Teaspoon | FF), Sunday, Domestic (Nine/Rose, NSFW) (Teaspoon | FF), Double Crossing (Ten/Rose, Seven, Ace McShane) (Teaspoon | LJ | FF)

6. An Education by @anne-hedonia​ (Teaspoon), 55k words (Nine/Rose, NSFW, Human Nature UA)

"Fine," she sighed tremulously.  "Take me h–"

He cut her off with a wordless cry–he couldn't even bear to hear the sentence finished.  He shoved the table out from between them and grabbed her, clasping her body to his with an arm around her waist and her mouth to his with a large hand on the back of her head.  She caught him and welcomed him and gave back in kind, and together they fought the cruel separation imposed by bones and flesh.  --An Education, Chapter 16

@thedalektables has a great round up post for this fic, if you want to know more of what’s coming.

See also: Time Out (Nine/Rose, NSFW, Father’s Day), Mamihlapinatapai (Nine/Rose, NSFW), and everything else she’s ever written.

7. Crimes of Passion by Scarlet Women (a collaboration between @lillibetm3 and sap1066), 22k words (Nine/Rose, NSFW)

Rose grinned wickedly at him. "So what you’re saying — is that this," she held out her smeared hand to him. "Is better than sex."

He bristled, unable to look away from the chocolate oozing out of the corner of her mouth. "Not better than sex with me," he replied without thinking, then, realising what he’d said, felt a surge of embarrassment. But with the way Rose was looking at him, it wasn't long before he felt a surge of something else... somewhere else.

She licked her palm thoughtfully, gazing up at him over the tips of her fingers, stroking her tongue around her hand until it was clean. His eyes followed every move she made. "Prove it," she said at last.

--Crimes of Passion, Chapter 3

See also: Modesty Forbids (Nine/Rose, NSFW) (Teaspoon | LJ)

8. Evolution of a Scandal (Teaspoon | AO3 | tumblr) by @rishidiams (Teaspoon | AO3) , 76k words (Nine/Rose, NSFW, AU, SDOACG crossover)

Without another word, John grabs the bottom of her shirt and drags it over her head. He steps away from her slightly as it passes between them, his eyes as dark as a storm when he returns. "I don't like that other men get to touch you. I don't like that they get to see you like this."

"No one sees me like this," she admits breathlessly. "No one has ever seen me like this."

--Evolution of a Scandal, Chapter 19

See also: Mine? (Nine/Rose, UA, post-Doomsday, baby!fic) (AO3 | tumblr) , Promises Unbroken (Nine/Rose, war AU, NSFW, underage warning, WIP) (AO3 | tumblr), Faith of the Heart (Nine/Rose, Star Trek/soulmate AU, NSFW, WIP) (AO3 | tumblr), Her Dragon (Nine/Rose, AU, dragon!Nine) (AO3 | tumblr)

9. Dumbstruck (Teaspoon | LJ | AO3) by sap1066 (Teaspoon | LJ | AO3), 5k words (Nine/Rose, NSFW)

The sudden rush of mellifluous sound into her ears stilled her random movements, her hand stretched in mid air. It was haunting, beautiful, the timbre rich and dark, reminding her of underground, soft and silent things. She raised her eyebrows, looked down curiously at the dials — she had clearly hit the right button somewhere. The noise came again, crawling down her spine, making her shiver. It was possibly the most sensual thing she had ever heard, she thought. She didn’t want it to stop. It did. Released from the spell, her hand fell back onto the panel. The silence was like a dash of iced water, but she jumped even more when she felt his strong fingers wrap themselves around her wrist, tugging her hand away from the controls.  --Dumbstruck, Chapter 1

See also: Five and a Half Hours (Nine/Rose, NSFW, GITF fix it) (Teaspoon | LJ | AO3), Always in the Kitchen at Parties (Nine/Rose, NSFW) (Teaspoon | LJ) , Bonfire Night (Teaspoon | LJ), Advent Calendar (Nine/Rose, NSFW) (Teaspoon | LJ), and all other Nine/Rose smut she’s ever written.

10. Seed Pearls (Teaspoon | LJ | FF) by HonorH (Teaspoon | LJ | FF) , 47k words (alt!Nine/Rose, NSFW, post-Doomsday)

--John. She stopped abruptly. It wasn’t possible that John was blocking her path, arms crossed, a thunderstorm in his face. Yet her eyes were telling her differently. “You know,” he said in a voice like iron, “it’s traditional among civilized society to at least say goodbye face-to-face when leaving a lover.”

--Seed Pearls, Chapter 15

See also: Brown Paper Bag Fics (Nine/Rose, NSFW) (Teaspoon | LJ) and Out of Joint (Nine/Rose, FIrefly crossover) (Teaspoon | LJ)

11. The Winter Season by teawithlemon/teawithlemon2/teawhovian/tealicity (Nine/Rose, Human Nature UA, NSFW)

I know it’s gone, but it needed a place on this list.

Tagging ten people whose ten favorite fics I’d really love to see (They can be from any fandom(s) you want; mine are all Nine/Rose because I’m boring, but any and all fandoms are fine!): @rishidiams, @kelkat9, @ruebella-b, @lillibetm3, @perfectlyrose, @anne-hedonia, @wholockgal, @chiaroscuroverse, @acreasy1, @goingtothetardis  

(I would have tagged @deathlyfandoms because I have her to thank/blame for the classic fic and GITF fix it rabbit holes I’ve fallen down, but she beat me and came up with two rec lists already - both of which are great and you should check them out.)

If anyone else wants to do it, please do, and mention/tag me so I can see your post!

[megabadbunny]

if we let go (4/?)

He pulls her down for another kiss and he doesn’t mean it to be such a needy thing, so desperate and harsh and hungry, but the way her lips part almost immediately makes him suspect she’s every bit as starved as he is.

I.e., Rose gets a choice, even if she has to carve it out for herself. In this chapter, she and the metacrisis Doctor choose just how vulnerable they’re willing to be with each other.

***

rose x ten, rose x tentoo; a journey’s end fixit (of sorts), dedicated to @travelingrose , whose very good questions reignited my love/hate relationship with this episode/storyline, and to @goingtothetardis, who kept me encouraged while writing (thank you dahling!!! <3). (i believe this also fills some rose x tentoo / tentoo day / tenth doctor month prompts from @timepetalsprompts and @doctorroseprompts​ .) heavy angst, but also lots of flirting, fluff, romance, some adventure, and some smut; sfw versions on tumblr & ff.net, nsfw versions on ao3 and teaspoon. this chapter is where the nsfw stuff officially kicks in.

***

prologue | chapter 1 | chapter 2 | chapter 3 | chapter 4 | chapter 5

chapter four: what it is and where it stops, nobody knows

He isn’t surprised by the shrieks that pierce the night air. If anything, he’s surprised it took so long. He is, however, shocked at the sight of Rose, stumbling bleary-eyed into the galley, jacketless and bare-footed.

(Was she sleeping? Where? Just how tired is she?)

It’s not like he forgot she was here—how could he?—but the fact that she’s back onboard the TARDIS still gives him a jolt somehow, like plucking bacon straight out of the sizzling-hot frying-pan and managing to be astonished when it burns your hand.

“Can I help you?” the Doctor asks.

“Can’t sleep. You?”

“Can’t say I’ve tried.”

Rose blinks at him, confused, eyes narrowed against the bright galley light. “Oh,” she says, realizing. “You’re—the other you.”

The Doctor bites back the sarcastic response hiding behind his teeth. “That’s right,” he says instead, downing a gulp of his coffee. It’s black, bitter, and it might as well be jet fuel. He grimaces. “The other me.”

Another cry rings out, and Rose shivers, hugging herself against an invisible chill. “Actually, I wanted to ask—that isn’t Donna, is it? Making that noise? She’s…she’s not in pain?”

The Doctor softens a bit at that despite himself. For all her claims of change, beneath that tough new battle-hardened exterior, Rose is still Rose—tender-hearted and compassionate, sometimes to a fault. Gods, he’s missed that. She and Donna would have got on splendidly.

“No,” he replies. “She’s still in stasis. Can’t feel a thing.” He holds up his medscreen for Rose to see, the stats and figures from Donna’s wrist transceiver blinking across the tablet surface. “I’ll know the instant that changes, if it changes.”

Rose pales in horror at the sound of the next gut-wrenching shout. “Oh my god,” she says, instantly alert, all traces of sleepiness evaporated in a millisecond. “The other Doctor—what’s wrong with him?”

“Nothing’s wrong, it’s all to be expected.” He swallows another mouthful of the tar in his mug and frowns in distaste. Dreadful stuff, coffee, but tea seems just a little too indulgent at the moment. “Time Lord memories in a human brain, remember? Or human enough, anyway.”

“Is he gonna have the same trouble as Donna?”

“No, no, nothing like that. Got enough of my original genetic material to keep all his grey matter from leaking out.” He drinks in a deep breath. “Now, the nightmares, on the other hand…”

He trails off, because Rose has got that look on her face, and maybe it’s been a few years (or a few centuries, feels about the same), but he still knows that look, still knows it exactly, the someone-is-hurting-and-I’ve-gotta-do-something-about-it look. Which is a problem, because if he knows himself like he thinks he does—and unfortunately, a millennia is more than enough time to get to know yourself, your few good qualities and many, many flaws alike—this will not end well, not for anyone.

“Rose,” the Doctor says warningly, but already she’s padding out of the gallery, her footfalls echoing softly in the corridor.

The Doctor swears under his breath. “Wait,” he says, louder, pushing up from the table so hard his chair slams to the tiles with a thwack. He sprints after her, but by the time he reaches the hall, Rose is already meters and meters off—she’s faster than he remembers somehow, or is that just one more way that she’s different from before?—and he shouts, “Just leave it alone, Rose. Trust me!”

Not the most brilliant choice of words at the end there, he thinks when she doesn’t stop.

 ***

 Fire, fire everywhere and—

burning

(red-hot white-hot iron and copper and pennies, steel, metallic and cold-boiling in his mouth)

Skin, bonding in nano-increments, cells knitting together over bones grown solid and if he could, he would double over with the pain of it, the unbearable hurt of becoming real

“What are you whinging about?” Harriet Jones asks, arms crossed over a gaping black hole in her chest. “At least you got a new heart out of all this.”

(real isn’t how you are made, said the skin horse, it’s a thing that happens to you)

I’m sorry, he says, or tries to say, but he hasn’t got a tongue yet, just rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth tearing the insides of newborn cheeks

Laughter, and when he looks up again, past the blood-red haze clouding his fetal eyes, the Harriet-thing is grinning, skin stretched too-tight over a Halloween-store-parody of a skull. “Absolutely the same man,” she says, words dripping with disgust

and the faintest hint of something ruby-red—

“I never asked for it,” he spits out as soon as words can take form in his mouth. “I can’t count you amongst my many sins.”

Curling in on himself, a ribbon that twists and cramps and contracts, muscles rippling under the skin; raw fingers scratch themselves bloody and reach stretch break into the

(does it hurt? asked the rabbit)

(she opens her maw and entire galaxies float inside, suspended in midnight-black ink, rainbow-swirling like an oil slick)

“No, no,” he begs (wheezes; throat is parched and cracked and dry; xtonic radiation is a cruel and cowardly bitch)

(Please Susan please please please help)

“What do you expect her to do?” asks Rose, circling a protective arm around his granddaughter (what’s left of her, anyway, blurred and wet and staining Rose’s shirt). “She’s just as dead as the rest of them.”

Tear ducts form just in time for salt to well up in his eyes, burning his cheeks, holy water scorching clean in blistering trenches

(galaxies dissolve one-by-one and he can hear feel smell taste every one of them dying, rotting-sweet dead flowers dirty crumpled five-pound notes ash in his mouth)

Hand new and complete and he reaches out but Donna is there instead, and he watches, helpless, as she falls in agonizing slow-motion; it would almost be funny except wait it is funny he is laughing he is laughing he is laughing so hard he cries why can’t he stop

crawls over to her prone body, crumpled on the grating, dying over scattered galaxy crumbs and sputtering embers and he turns her onto her back, and something black is where her eyes should be, overflowing and staining fire-red hair

“I didn’t mean to,” he chokes out, but she can’t hear, the black stuff swells up in her nose and her mouth and her ears and it burns everywhere it touches, eating away at her skin and her hair and her cut-up leather jacket (and oh, the fit she would throw if she knew)

(it doesn’t happen all at once, said the skin horse, you become. it takes a long time)

(Doctor, she says, and her voice sounds funny and far-away)

“No, no, not that,” he pleads. “Anything else—”

She turns what’s left of her skeleton-face toward him and she screams

 **

 “Doctor!”

Air sharp in his lungs like a knife and the Doctor can’t get enough of it, gulping and choking until he thinks it might gash his throat.

“Shhh, you’re okay, you’re okay, it’s just a nightmare, it isn’t real—”

Hands on his chest, smaller than his but familiar, but they’re gone, she’s gone, all of her, and she’s never—

Frantic knocking against his ribs and he wonders if he’s ever been in a place so dark before, ever witnessed anything that ate the light like this. One of his hands slides beneath those on his chest, checking, and—yes, there it is. One heart, just the one. Damn.

“Doctor?” says the voice again, quieter this time. “Are you awake? Are you all right?”

Oh, god.

Impressions of the nightmare slowly fade, blinked away like the remnants of too-bright lights splashed across the backs of his eyelids, and the darkness in his room dissolves bit by aching bit. He can just make out the shape of someone else in his bed, silhouetted by the dim light leaking beneath his bedroom door. Too murky to make out any details, but she’s haunted his subconscious long enough that he would know her anywhere, unmistakable in any form.

“Rose?” rasps the Doctor, his voice rough from shouting (crying?).

“Yeah,” she says, fingers curling in his tee-shirt. “I’m here, with you. Remember? And everything’s gonna be…”

The Doctor doesn’t hear what she says next—blood rushes in his ears, pins-and-needles and a high-pitched whine and a thick thump-thump-thumping; cold sweat beads on his brow, and he fights the nausea threatening to wash over him. Forcing his breathing to slow, he pushes up in the bed. He can feel her staring at him, feel her concern. Relief and embarrassment rise up in equal measure, searing-hot fluid in a thin-skinned blister.

���Please get out,” he pants.

Her hands stall on his chest. “Doctor?”

“Please,” he says, brokenly, knuckles scraping the tears from his cheeks. He curses himself for ever letting anyone see him like this, for ever allowing himself to be so shamefully pathetic. “You never should have—I don’t need you here. Get out.”

The Doctor can practically hear Rose’s heart hardening at that.

Her next breath is tremulous, watery. “Fine.”

The bed jostles with the force of her movement, bedclothes twisting as she crawls over them and gropes semi-blindly for the edge of the mattress, and the Doctor realizes she actually listened to him this time. Really, properly listened—and she’s really, properly going. Now the panic rushes in, and the guilt, settling heavily at the pit of his stomach. Please no please don’t go please don’t leave please…

“Wait,” he calls hoarsely after her, but her feet have already reached the floor. “Rose—”

“No, it’s fine. I’ve got it. Tell a girl Get out enough times, eventually it gets through her thick skull.”

He springs out of bed just in time to grab her hand before it can twist the doorknob. “Rose, stop. Please.”

“Why? Planning to call up any other regenerations to come spit in my face?” she snaps, her back turned to him. “How about my first Doctor, the one who died on the Gamestation? Want to bring him on over so he can have a go at me, too?”

Her shoulders are tense, hard as flint as the Doctor places his hands on them, gently nudging her until she turns around to face him. Her entire body quakes beneath his touch and he suspects that, just like him, her shivering has got nothing to do with the temperature in the room.

“I fought so hard,” she says plaintively, and the Doctor doesn’t need to see or touch her face to know she’s crying now. He can hear the tears thick in her voice, feel the sobs wracking her frame. “It’s been years, Doctor, and I tried—I thought about trying, settling into a life over there, and I could’ve, there were times I wanted to, I had friends and my family and a good job and there were blokes and a girl and I could’ve—but I couldn’t—not after all the things I did, and if you ever knew—and I just missed you so much, god, I missed you, and I thought—if I tried hard enough—”

Laughing through her tears, Rose shivers even more violently. “God, I’m stupid.”

“Not true,” says the Doctor firmly.

“I am, though,” she says with a sniffle. “I don’t know what else I expected. I mean, it’s not like I thought I’d come back and you’d scoop me up in your arms, or, I don’t know, profess your eternal love for me, or whatever. I just thought, I hoped we could pick up where we’d left off, just the two of us, and Donna too if she wanted, back out in the stars, and I thought, maybe, one day, if I was really, really lucky, maybe you would—”

He cuts her off with a kiss.

She stiffens against him, body going rigid under his hands, and he knows he’s being rude, or unfair, or possibly terribly unchivalrous; definitely something Donna would smack him for, and he wouldn’t blame her. And it’s messy, salty, wet, her tears viscous and sticky on Rose’s cheeks and her lips and now on his as well. But it’s warm, too, in a way that makes him dizzy, his chest expanding, his blood thrilling in his veins. And hopefully Rose can find it in herself to forgive him, because right now he just doesn’t have the words. He can only hope, desperately, that his actions will speak loudly enough in their stead.

(And he would be lying if he said he hadn’t been thinking about this since these eyes first saw her.)

Eventually Rose relaxes in his grip, pulling back with a soft gasp. “You don’t have to do that,” she mumbles.

“Do what?”

She thumbs the tears off her face. “Give me anything out of guilt. Just because you think I want it.”

He nods. “All right.”

He kisses her again.

A strained little whimper rises in Rose’s throat and she snakes her arms around his neck and before he knows it, his arms are responding in kind, wrapping around her and pulling her body flush with his. She’s still shaking but it’s more of a buzz now, something he can sense in his skin, creeping into his skull like a rush of alcohol. His body floods with warmth as her tongue tentatively brushes his lower lip and a flash-vision pops into his mind, detailing how he could push her up against the door—

Suddenly he’s gone a bit jellylike in the knees and the Doctor breaks the kiss with a shudder. The room feels like it’s spinning around him.

(He’s relieved to hear he’s not the only one struggling to hide breaths gone ragged.)

“You…” Rose says, and swallows. “That’s cheating.”

“Never said I’d play fair,” the Doctor replies, step-stumbling back until his legs hit the bed. He sits down, grateful for the support.

Rose doesn’t budge from the door, so the Doctor holds out a hand—can she see it in the almost-black, can she tell he’s reaching out for her?—and after a few horrible moments of nothing, her warm little palm slides along his. She lets him draw her in, and he has every intention of wrapping his arms around her again, comforting them both with a solid, lung-squeezing hug, so he’s surprised when her hands reach out and cup his jaw, tilting his face upward. He wonders if, perhaps, her night-vision is better than his now, if she can see the nervousness and hope written across his features, but soon it’s apparent she’s seeing with her hands; her thumbs stroke the apples of his cheeks, tracing the edges of his sideburns and working up to his temples. His eyes flutter shut at her touch and he fights not to lean into it, like a cat. Fingers tangle in his hair and nails scratch lightly against his scalp and he can’t stop the hum that escapes in response.

He pulls her down for another kiss and he doesn’t mean it to be such a needy thing, so desperate and harsh and hungry, but the way her lips part almost immediately makes him suspect she’s every bit as starved as he is. She deepens the kiss and his tongue chases after hers. Dizzy with want, he clutches at her hips, he’s just got to touch her somewhere, anywhere she’ll let him, he needs to feel her, soft and solid and safe, but she’s still so far away, still oceans and oceans between them—

The Doctor doesn’t even try to hold back a sigh of relief when Rose clambers into his lap, pressing herself against him. The weight of her is warm and reassuring, the frantic pit-pat-patter of her heart against his a welcome rhythm.

“I don’t play fair either,” says Rose, and she kisses him fiercely before he has a chance to reply.

 **

 Afterward, she slumps against him, panting. Eyes shuttering closed, he wraps his arms around her, losing himself in the gentle rise and fall of their chests as their breaths slowly calm. But eventually Rose stirs in his arms, sitting back on his lap; the Doctor imagines if he could see her face in better detail right now, her eyes would be glazed, blinking heavily. He suspects his are doing much the same.

He feels like he should say something, but his breathing is too thick to allow any words out of his mouth. At least, that’s what he tells himself; the truth is, he’s still too stunned by the idea of Rose sitting in his lap to really register anything that’s happening right now, or anything that’s happened in the last few minutes, for that matter. A not-unpleasant buzzing sound has filled his head, pairing nicely with the numb feeling suffusing him below the waist, and it’s just a bit difficult to think past it all.

Rose wriggles off his lap, both of them wincing, and she walks off toward his en suite, fumbling for the light-switch in the dark. Soon she finds it (impressive, considering she’s never been in here before) and searing yellow-white light lances the Doctor’s vision, blinding him with its brightness. Moments later, the Doctor is surprised by the sensation of something soft hitting him in the face. He blinks out the light, confused, pulling a flannel from where it fell in his lap.

“Figured you might want to clean up,” Rose says from the doorway to the en suite. She’s not wrong, and oddly considerate—but something about her sudden frankness and neutral tone sets panic thrumming in the Doctor’s system all over again.

She’s not just going to up and leave after all that, right? Surely she wouldn’t?

The door to the en suite closes, leaving the Doctor alone in the darkness once again, frozen. Slowly, amidst the sounds of flushing and washing-up, he tidies up. The fresh, clean flannel is a blessing on his skin, but it isn’t enough to soothe the anxiety roiling in his skull, especially when the light turns back off and Rose comes out and, quietly, heads straight for the bedroom door. The Doctor wants to ask her to stay, but the words seem wrong, somehow, almost childish, and at any rate, they’re stuck in his throat.

Hand on the doorknob, Rose hesitates. “Did I push you?” she asks, her voice small.

“No,” he answers quickly, thankful that his tongue finally works again. “No, not at all.”

She sighs in relief. “And you, erm. Would you rather I left you al—”

“No.”

Another sigh. “Good.”

The mattress dips beneath her weight as Rose crawls back into the bed, and, his weary brain just a bit slow on the uptake, the Doctor follows after, sure to leave a respectable amount of space between them, just in case Rose wants it. But he soon learns he needn’t have worried; the second his head hits the pillow, Rose snuggles up against him, tucking her head beneath his chin and insinuating one leg between his. Surprised, but nonetheless pleased, the Doctor pulls her into his embrace, wondering how in the universe he managed to be the lucky sod she’s curled up against tonight.

“It’s not your fault, you know,” Rose mutters sleepily into his chest.

The Doctor startles out of his thoughts. “Hm?”

“What happened to Donna. It’s not your fault.”

It’s stupid, really, how quickly the tears spring up behind his eyes. He grits his teeth until the pressure fades, his fists clenching tightly in Rose’s tee-shirt. He has half a mind to untangle himself from her, to get up out of the bed and throw open the doors of the TARDIS and scream at the universe until his voice grows hoarse and his throat bloody, but the other half of his mind gently points out how Rose’s breathing has already evened out, how relaxed her entire body is next to his, how warm and soft she is in his arms. How she’s here, with him, now, despite everything.

With a tired exhale, he nuzzles into Rose’s hair. Fruity shampoo, expensive perfume, the faintest tinge of chemicals from her hair dye all greet him; marveling at how natural it all feels, the two of them close and quiet like this, he breathes it in, committing it to memory, just in case. He closes his eyes and, inch by inch, lets himself loosen.

She’s wrong about Donna, of course. But it was still nice of her to say.

***

Previous: Chapter Three | Next: Chapter Five

[lastbluetardis]

Seaside Strolls

This was written for @doctorroseprompts‘s weekly prompt “walking on a beach together at sunset”.

Tentoo x Rose, ~1000 words, all ages

The Doctor and Rose go for a walk along the beach and reaffirm the declarations they’d made earlier that day.

AO3

“Well, I’m off to bed,” Jackie announced, standing up from the table. “We’re not due to leave for the zeppelin port until ten in the morning tomorrow, so try and get some sleep, sweetheart.”

“I will,” Rose said, tilting her head up so her mum could press a kiss to her cheek. “Night.”

“You too,” Jackie said, pointing accusingly at the Doctor. “Get some rest.”

The Doctor nodded and gave Jackie a tight-lipped smile and a two-fingered salute before she walked out of the little local restaurant a few blocks from the inn they were staying in for the night.

“Ready to head back?” the Doctor asked, running his fingertips around the lip of his empty wine glass.

“Not really,” Rose answered, feeling too wired, despite her exhaustion.

The Doctor nodded, and they lapsed into an awkward silence that Rose hated. This was the Doctor, the person she loved most in the universe, and the person she trusted with her life. But that was also the problem. This was the Doctor, and he was human now, and he was stuck here on one planet and in one time. He had to hate it.

“Care to walk around a bit?” he asked suddenly, pulling her from her anxious thoughts. “We could explore the little shops?”

“Okay,” Rose said, standing.

They exited the restaurant and meandered aimlessly through the little seaside town, enjoying the smell of the warm evening air and salt from the nearby sea.

When they reached the end of the town, the beach opened up to them, and without a word, they both stepped onto the sand to continue their walk.

“It’s pretty here,” the Doctor mused softly, watching the setting sun sparkle blindingly off of the waves.

“I suppose,” Rose allowed.

Silence descended once more, and Rose wanted to scream. She wanted to yell at him and shake him and demand he tell her what was going on in that big, stupid brain of his, because she was going half-mad at his continued silence.

“Look, Doctor, I know that you probably hate this right now, being without the TARDIS and being stuck in this stupid universe and…”

“What?” he spluttered, coming to a stop. “Rose, what are you talking about?”

Rose blinked up at him. “Er…”

“How could I be anything other than overjoyed to be with you again?” he asked softly, giving her a smile so tender that it made all of her previous fears seem so daft now. “How could anything possible compare to you?”

Rose flushed at the reverent praise, and she smiled shyly.

“I’m so sorry if I gave the impression that I’ve been anything other than happy,” he said, smiling sheepishly.

“You haven’t exactly said much.” Rose shrugged. “Didn’t know what you were thinking, honestly.”

“I don’t even know what I’ve been thinking,” the Doctor admitted. “I’m honestly still waiting to wake up and be back in the TARDIS and this has all been a fantastic nightmare.”

“Nope, not a dream,” Rose said, grinning. “I’m real, and so are you.”

“Quite right, Rose Tyler,” he murmured. He stepped up to her and raised a shaking hand to cradle her jaw. His thumbs brushed against her cheeks, and she leaned into the softness and warmth of his hands. “I’m sorry I’ve been quiet. But hear me now: I am so happy to be here with you. So happy.”

“Me too,” Rose whispered, lifting her hands to cover his. “I love you, Doctor.”

He breathed out a relieved laugh, and he leaned forward until his nose brushed against hers.

“I love you, too.”

His breath tickled her lips, and she leaned forward to close the gap. Their lips parted and met softly as they kissed each other leisurely. His lips were as soft as she remembered, but warmer than she was expecting. His breathing went much more ragged than it used to, and she suspected he was still getting used to the lack of a respiratory bypass.

His arms wrapped around her strongly, holding her tight, and she pressed herself closer to his embrace. She buried her fingers into his hair, playing with the soft, silky strands before she scraped her nails lightly against his scalp in a way that used to draw shivers from him.

She grinned against his lips when he moaned and trembled in her arms. His lips grew greedy and slightly uncoordinated. He sucked at her lips and nibbled lightly on them before his tongue darted out to tease her mouth.

“Oh, Rose,” he whispered, pulling back from the kiss to pant for breath.

She pressed soft kisses to the corners of his mouth and across his jaw before she pulled back.

“Snogging on a beach at sunset,” she teased. “Quite romantic, even for you.”

“Well, I can’t woo you with alien planets anymore, can I?”

Rose frowned when she heard the uncertainty in his tone. He’d turned to look out at the colors streaking out from the horizon, and she saw his Adam’s apple bob in nervousness.

“Doctor, you know I never needed that, right?” she asked tentatively, taking his hand in hers. “It was you I fell in love with. Not the travelling. Though that was nice, I loved it because I was travelling with you.”

A relieved smile crossed his face, and he gave her fingers a grateful squeeze.

“Shall we walk on?” he asked, nodding to the open beach before them.

“Yeah,” she answered.

She hugged the Doctor’s arm to her chest as they turned and walked into the setting sun, together.

[darth-tella]

Salt and Sugar

You guys seem to have a habit of sending me prompts that go so well together!

To the first Anon: thanks!  I’m glad you’re enjoying them!

To the second Anon: I do my best to write every fic you guys prompt me with. I’ve skipped none so far.  Thanks for your continued patience.

(And if you’re the same person, then shucks!  You’re so sweet.)

Sorry this one is a bit shorter than the one’s I’ve been putting out lately, but I feel like it would just be dragging if I made it any longer.

Still, I hope you enjoy.  (I’m really just throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.)

Also tagging @doctorroseprompts

Read on AO3

Tentoo/Rose All Ages

Salt and Sugar

She couldn’t get rid of the taste.  No matter how much Rose scraped her tongue against her front teeth the taste of sea salt just clung on to the tip of it. She needed to wash it away with something.  This taste  triggered memories that did nothing but crush her heart into a million tiny pieces.  Now after all these years of nothing but blood, sweat and tears trying to get back to the Doctor she was just right back where she started on this goddamn beach.  The irritating salty taste still lingering.

But it was somehow worse this time.

There was more than just the taste of the salt in the air.  Now she could also still taste him.  She wasn’t left here alone this time.  The Doctor had somehow split himself in two, and this now human version of him was walking beside her.  A Doctor who dared tell her exactly how he felt and whom she – in a flurry of conflicting emotions – passionately kissed.

No wonder the Doctor left without a word.

Rose was startled out of her thoughts as a tray clattered down in front of her. Jackie had led them into a warm little café just a short walk away from the beach and ordered them all some tea and sandwiches.  A sudden rainstorm erupted while they were walking and now Rose felt chilled to the bone.  She reached for her tea, taking a moment for the heat of it to warm her hands a little before settling it in front of herself.  She was almost on autopilot as she reached for the packets of sugar.  Rose somehow didn’t see the other hand that was also reaching over, and long fingers brushed against hers.  Both hands halted in mid-air, and both abandoned their quest for sugar as those long fingers curled around her hand.  A very familiar palm slid against hers and she allowed her fingers to curl around it as their hands came to rest on the tabletop.

Rose studied their hands for a moment.  They fit together like they always did. Reality came crashing down on her like a tidal wave.  This hand was the Doctor’s hand! She watched it get sliced off by an angry Sycorax!

And if this was his hand... then that must mean...

“Doctor?” Rose’s voice was all but a broken whisper.  The Doctor squeezed her hand tighter, and she could feel him scoot a bit closer to her.

“Hello.” The Doctor whispered back, his voice cracking slightly with emotion. Rose’s lips tipped up in a small smile when she realised that they were echoing the same conversation they had just after he regenerated.  After she was just starting to come to terms with who that new man was standing in front of her. She finally looked up into his eyes for the first time since leaving that beach. They were the same deep brown eyes she remembered, but now they were shining with unshed tears and such hope and (dare she think it?) love.

“Doctor.” She said again, this time making it a statement of fact.

“Rose Tyler.”  He drawled, enticing a giggle out of her.

“Good, ya know each other’s names.”  A third voice rang out from across the table, breaking their moment.  “Now, drink your tea before you catch your death!” The Doctor rolled his eyes at Jackie.

“Mum!” Rose hissed.  She was about to really let into her, already preparing a speech on how the Doctor had been mostly polite during her reunion with Pete, but was thrown off track by the Doctor’s laughter.

The two women stared at him.

“Sorry, sorry.”  He said getting his laughter under control, wiping the tears from his eyes, but he was still openly crying.  Jackie reached across the table and laid a comforting hand on his arm, and the Doctor clutched at her hand too.

“It’s just... I missed you so much.  Both of you.”

Rose had to blink through her tears, as she was now holding both the Doctor’s and her mother’s hands.  She never imagined he’d miss her mother, what with all the disparaging comments he’d made during the entire time she’d known him. But now she saw them for what they truly were; just a bit of ribbing that was common to family members.  He’d even done it to Mickey, before he finally admitted that he was always proud of him.

They weren’t just his friends.  They were his family!

“Oh, sweetheart.”  Jackie cooed.  “We missed you too.”

The Doctor rose from the table, breaking his grasp on their hands but still reaching out for them.  Rose realised his intent first, stood up and walked into his arms with Jackie following immediately after.

This little family had a lot of healing to do, but they were making their first steps towards it.