Chapter Text
He was alone again – and The Doctor could never be alone. No, it was too dangerous. When he was alone, he had no one to distract him. Alone, he would start to think, to mourn, to miss. He was vulnerable, with no one to stop him and make him think of the consequences.
And there he was, having one of those moments where he just missed so much, and there was no one to stop him. And he knew it was stupid, he knew he would regret it, but it hurt, and he just couldn’t stop himself as he set the coordinates on the TARDIS console.
He took a deep breath as he sat on the ground, eyes closed as he waited for the TARDIS to land. And even after it landed, he stayed a few more minutes like that. Maybe if he’d give himself some time he would finally realize just how stupid that was, maybe if he sat there for a little bit more he would just see what he was doing and go back to wherever else.
But it wouldn’t happen. It wouldn’t, because he knew it was stupid, he knew exactly what he was doing. He just couldn’t go back, he needed to do that. And with that he got up, straightened his bowtie nervously and directed himself to the doors in a quick pace. Now that he was there, he couldn’t waste his little time.
He opened the doors, being greeted by the cold London breeze. It wasn’t anything special, just another day in 2005’s London. Nothing special but a pink and yellow girl about to save the universe by becoming the Bad Wolf.
He set the coordinates to that time when he had sent her home. He knew she soon would solve the Bad Wolf puzzle and come right back to him and be amazing. He smiled at the memory. He was probably in one of the days in between the day she came back home and the day she solved the puzzle. He would just take a quick look at her, only because he needed that too much, but it would be only that. It was a promise.
He walked around, wondering where he should look for her first. He really hoped he hadn’t come too late and she had already gone to him. But he didn’t have to wait much before he found out he didn’t. Just as he turned a corner he got a glimpse of unmistakable golden blonde hair. He turned around to see her sitting on a park bench, head down, those golden locks covering her face.
He hesitated just for one second before heading in her direction. Fidgeting with his bowtie, he sat near her, forcing a smile on his face while saying a cheery-sounding "hello!".
The girl looked at him, and his hearts gave a jump in his chest by seeing her face again. Her eyes were reddish and there were light eyeliner stains down her cheeks – it wasn’t hard to guess she had been crying. She sniffed and rubbed her eyes with her jacket’s sleeve, trying to put on a straight face. He knew her well; she didn't want a stranger to know she had cried.
"'Sup, mate," she said, her voice braking slightly. She passed her eyes through him, taking in his strange fashion choices – she was quite sure she hadn’t ever saw a guy wearing bowties and tweed jackets around there before, specially not guys his age. "You’re new around here?"
"Yeah, sort of," he answered, a small smile taking his features for being able to talk to her again. "Just passing by, actually. Might stay a little bit, so I thought I’d get to know the neighborhood."
She smiled back slightly, and he couldn’t stop his own smile from growing larger. "I’m Rose, Rose Tyler."
"Nice to meet you, Rose," he smiled, enjoying the feeling of her name rolling through his lips. He then hesitated to think of a way to introduce himself. He couldn’t say Doctor. He settled for the usual - she couldn't have know, she didn't even know about regeneration yet. "I’m John. Does that even suit me?" He muttered the last part, frowning to himself.
She chuckled slightly. "Nice to meet you, John. So, what brings you here?" She asked politely. She might as well be friendly with this stranger - he had managed to make her laugh, and she really hadn't done much but cry in the last few days.
"Oh, well, you know, like I said, just passing by. I like to travel," he stated.
"Yeah? Me too," she said, her gaze suddenly filled with melancholy. "I had been traveling recently, actually..." She suddenly shook her head, as if to push the thoughts away. "But why did you choose here? There's nothing special in this part of the city."
"Well, I have memories here," he smiled slightly. "Memories from a long time ago."
"You talk like you were an old man," she chuckled again. "Good memories?"
He took a while to answer that one. "Some bad memories... But mostly, the best of memories," he smiled at her, and she couldn't help but smile back.
"Where do you come from?" She asked, finding herself curious about this man. It was odd, it was like he was kind of familiar, somehow...
"Oh, from very far away. But I spend most of my time traveling, so I don't really have a house or something like that. I hardly stay in one place for a day, really."
Rose had that lost gaze again. "I know what it's like," she sighed. "It's good, isn't it? Travel all around, never sticking around for too much time..."
As she slowly fell silent, her gaze lost in the horizon, the Doctor began to worry. He really didn't want her to cry because of him again. "So, as I said, memories! I came here for memories. So, you know, there used to be this real nice place with good chips I used to go around here, do you know if it's still around?"
Pulling herself out of those thoughts, Rose blinked at him. "Oh, yeah, chips? Yeah, I know a place with good chips. Maybe it's the one? It's been around here for a while."
"Well, it doesn't really matter if it's the one, I'd just really like some chips now. But, you know, now that I'm here, I realized this trip wouldn't be as fun as I planned. You know, what's good about eating chips alone?" He got on his feet and smiled at her, reaching a hand towards her. "Would you mind showing me that place, and maybe joining me for some chips?"
She looked up at him, exchanging looks between his reached out hand and his expectant smiling face. She then shrugged internally, grabbing his hand and getting up. As soon as she was standing, she let go of his hand and quickly rubbed her face, hoping to get any makeup stains out of her face. "So, chips, then," she said, and started making her way towards the diner.
The Doctor followed close, rubbing his palm with his thumb, a smile on his face as the result of the brief contact with her - it had been such a long time. But the Doctor smiled to himself, because it didn't matter. Right now, none of that mattered. Not as he walked side by side with Rose Tyler, his Rose, to get some chips.