THE LONELY CENTURION.

AMY WAS SO TIRED OF their fights, yet rory every time had more energy than her to keep arguing. she made her decision not so long ago, but she decided to stick to it – she wanted to let rory go. before it’d be too late, before they’d hate each other too much. they experienced too many things together to completely destroy their relationship. she moved her gaze from a magazine to him, her voice sounding completely flat & resigned. “then why you made him ask you for a permission to hug me? that’s ridiculous. you don’t do that with other people. i don’t even do that with your friends.” how it was possible that when she made up her mind, she still found every occasion to hurt him? she knew she had to finish this as soon as possible. before it’d be too late.

“then go ahead. leave and have your perfect boring life without me. that’s what you always wanted, didn’t you? we both know i’m not the one who will settle.” wanderlust, the world still curling between them. how long it was since the last time she travelled with the doctor? too long for her. so she had to find a way to travel anyway, even if only on earth. that was why she decided to be a model. “seriously, rory. it’s time to stop this.” saying these words out loud was completely different than only thinking about them. but it was too late now.

❛ THAT WAS SO LONG AGO ! ❜  rory didn’t want to raise his voice but it was stronger than him. why amy brought up something like that ? he was a different man now. he really was. but his anger didn’t even let him notice how resigned amy sounded. like she gave up already.  ❛ I’M NOT JEALOUS. NOT . . . NOT ANYMORE. ❜  a short sigh escaped his throat, he tried to calm himself down a bit, but the whole argument turned him into a completely different man, a man even he didn’t recognise. and when he wanted to say something, anything to make it up, amy’s words left him speechless. he blinked twice, trying to make sure he heard everything right. without me, she said like it was something normal. like she didn’t even care anymore. why he wanted to fight in a lost cause then ? when his wife didn’t want him anymore ? ❛ YOU’VE GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME ! ❜  and then, after a shock, there was anger. again, rory wasn’t quite sure what he was doing or saying, but he didn’t control himself anymore.  ❛ I LOVE YOU, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ? AND I WON’T LEAVE JUST BECAUSE YOU  DON’T WANT TO SETTLE. I KNEW THAT SINCE I MET YOU ! ❜  he screamed these words, hoping that it would make amy do something, anything, instead of looking at him like he wasn’t there. maybe these arguments turned both of them into ghosts of the people they used to be.  ❛ AMY, WHAT ARE WE DOING ? ❜  he asked suddenly softly, when the whole anger washed away again. he realised he wasn’t angry at amy, but at the whole situation & it made him want to fight again. for amy. she was worth it.

   ❛ hm? ❜ the doctor blinked, more or less tuning in at the word future. of course it only took a second for him to realise that rory had, of course, meant future in the linear, boring sense of the word. but still the doctor smiled, clapping and rubbing his hands together. ❛ ah, yes. right. hanging out! you with your coffee, me with my tea- did you know, some humans call this a, oh- what was it? i heard it just the other… nando’s! cheeky nando’s! just some lads out for a cheeky nando’s, you and me. pretty cool. ❜

RORY ROLLED HIS EYES IN HIS OH LORD, GIVE ME STRENGHT FASHION.  ❛ ACTUALLY, NANDO’S IS A NAME OF A RESTAURANT CHAIN . . .  ❜  the doctor never failed to surprise him, sometimes it was his intelligence or the things he’d showed him & amy, but sometimes it was really simple things like that one. it was even adorable somehow.  ❛ I DON’T EVEN WANT TO KNOW WHO TOLD YOU THIS. ❜  rory shook his head, chuckling.  ❛ OR MAYBE I DO ? OR DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING LIKE A GUIDE TO EARTH ? ❜

        ❝   HA,  no,  this is just a quick call.  and please,  kate is fine.  ❞     kate never went for  mrs  stewart.  for starters,  she wasn’t  mrs  stewart.  just ms.  stewart was her professional name,  especially considering the lack of lethbridge,  and the fact she was a married woman.  she was glad to catch the nurse,  they needed to just do a few checks on the house and its occupants.  unit procedure.   ❝  i was hoping we could have a quick chat ?  ❞

❛ OKAY, THEN ! COME ON IN. ❜  rory moved a bit & opened the door wider to let kate go inside.  ❛ DO YOU WANT A CUP OF TEA ? I WAS MAKING ONE FOR MYSELF BEFORE YOU CAME. ❜  he smiled gently. except for amy, kate was probably the only one person who he could talk to openly. sometimes life with the doctor was . . . intense. and trying to balance that with an ordinary life was hard.  ❛ BUT EVERYTHING IS FINE, RIGHT ? OR SOMETHING HAPPENED WITH THE DOCTOR ? ❜  he asked still smiling. as much as he wanted to talk about aliens & monster & time travel, he finally realised that maybe kate visited him because there was something wrong.

Sometimes, it was nice to park on Earth. It was nice, if nostalgic, to be on the planet that she’d called home for so long- Clara enjoyed acting natural, blending in with human society and pretending that she was back in her life. So when Me left to look around, she began to work the diner.

“Yes- hello! Come right in.” She beamed at her customer, “What can I get you?”

RORY ENTERED THE DINER SMILING A BIT AWKWARDLY.  ❛ ANYTHING WILL DO, REALLY. ❜  well, anything was better than amy’s cooking. he loved her so much, but not her meals . . . he sat at the bar & cleared his throat.  ❛ IS THIS SOME KIND OF POP-UP DINER ? THIS IS A NEW TREND, ISN’T IT ? ❜  but then when he turned around, he realised that the place looked familiar, too familiar even.  ❛ THIS MIGHT SOUND WEIRD BUT I SWEAR I WAS HERE BEFORE . . . ❜

THE  DOCTOR  FELT  HIS  EYEBROWS  CREASE  IN  SLIGHT  ANNOYANCE  at  rorys  insistence  that  he  had  to  be  amys  relative  or  something  .  he  rolled  his  head  then  sighed  ,  watching  the  other  man  before  giving  a  GRUFF  reproach  .  ‘  i  was  at  your  wedding  .  ’  he  said  .  ‘  only  i  was  wearing  a  STUPID  bow  tie  &&  top  hat  .  ’  he  shrugged   the  pointedly  he  declared  .  ‘  i’m  not  scottish  -  i’m  just  cross  .  ’  another  pause  &&  the  doctor  straightened  himself  slightly  .  ‘  &&  i  can  be  the  doctor  .  i’m  ALWAYS  the  doctor  .  i  just  changed  my  face  a  little  .  ’

❛ THE REAL DOCTOR WOULD NEVER SAY THAT BOW TIES WERE STUPID. ❜ rory murmured to himself.  ❛ OKAY, LET’S SAY I BELIEVE YOU. ❜  he said louder this time.  ❛ BUT WHY YOU CHANGED YOUR FACE ? DON’T GET ME WRONG BUT THAT PREVIOUS ONE WAS . . . YOUNG. ❜ even if for one thousand years old, rory thought.  ❛ AND ISN’T CROSSING YOUR OWN TIMELINE DANGEROUS ? ❜  he narrowed his eyes, trying to look suspicious. no, it couldn’t be the doctor. he knew doing something like that was risky.

The Doctor frowned. Why was he calling her ‘madam?’ Oh wait. She remembered. She was a woman now! She turned around with a huge grin, one that faltered when she saw who was holding her screwdriver. Rory. Of course he wouldn’t know it was the Doctor he was talking to. “Smart boy! It is indeed a sonic piece of technology. A sonic screwdriver, to be exact.” Her smile was bright as she took the device from Rory and tucked it away in one of the inner pockets of her coat. She narrowed her eyes at the man, pointing a finger at him. “How did you get here?”

❛ SONIC SCREWDRIVER ?  MY FRIEND USED TO HAVE ONE TOO . . . ❜  he smiled a bit, wondering where the doctor currently was. well, probably fighting monsters & saving the universe like always.  ❛ I LIVE HERE, YOU KNOW. ❜  he shrugged & looked at his watch. if he was going to stay here & chat, he’d be late for work. but then he got somehow intrigued by the woman with a sonic screwdriver. or maybe she was a threat ? but she didn’t look like it; actually rory felt that he had met her already . . .  ❛ AND WHAT ABOUT YOU, MADAM ? ❜