rose

a  delightful  smile  decorates  her  face .          ❝     oh ,  i  would  hope  so .    ❞           a  beat ,   &   then  her  smile  falls  with  a  thought .     she  takes  a  step  towards  rose ,  now  with  concern  lining  her  brow .           ❝     i  really  do  hope  so ,  actually .    because  i  know  that  he  —  that  james  —  doesn’t  remember  who  he  really  is  which ,  frankly ,  i  was  a  little  let  down  by  because  that  means  he  doesn’t  know  who  i  am  either   …   i’m  hoping  that  you  know  who  he  really  is .     if  you  know  who  he  is  then ,  trust  me ,  you  do  know  me .    ❞

“Sounds brilliant,” he nodded, grinning at her.  He didn’t know if it was rude not to ask her about her past, since he’d seen most of it.  Well, the parts where she’d been traveling with The Doctor.  Those had been the brightest and the ones he’d assumed she was the most fond of.  But she had to have memories before that, right?  “What was growing up like for you?” he finally asked.

it’s  helpful ,  knowing  there  are  two  versions  of  herself  here .     means  they  might  have  supplies .     in  the  case  of  her  tenth  regeneration ,  or  james  as  he  was  calling  himself  now ,  he  had  the  best  possible  piece  of  supplies  in  the  universe .     THE  TARDIS .    a  bit  outdated  from  her  current  one  but  still  the  same  tardis .    building  herself  a  sonic  screwdriver    (  again !   bad  luck  for  screwdrivers  this  face  was  )    would  be  a  snap  with  the  technology  in  there .    she  needed  to  go  out  for  a  few  supplies  but  once  she  had  what  she  needed  she  was  on  the  way .

his  door  was  just  down  the  hall  now .    easy .    &  it’s  natural  to  assume  it’s  him  coming  out  when  she  sees  it  open  towards  her .           ❝     james !    got  some  stuff !    need  t’  do  a  bit  of  work !    you  mind  if  i  borrow  the  —     ❞             the  door  shuts   &   she  can  see  who’s  on  the  other  side  now .      it’s  not  her  confused  past  regeneration .     she  slows ,  then  stops .            ❝     rose   …    ❞            her  voice  is  quiet   &   about  as  gentle  as  it  can  be .    like  she’s  saying  something  truly  delicate   &   precious  to  her .          ❝      …  hello  …     ❞

CLOSED   STARTER      /       @ofrosetyler  ,   rose  tyler 

He laughed, wrapping has arm around her waist and stretching out, pulling her down beside him.  “I can’t just lay in bed all day,” he shook his head slightly.  “I think I’d go crazy.  So, I’ll give it about another hour and then we can go explore the TARDIS or go somewhere around town, yeah?”

James smirked, reaching over to pick his phone up off of the nightstand.  With a few taps, he’d unlocked it and quickly sent a message to a coworker that owed him.  “My schedule just opened up,” he smirked, locking his phone and placing it back.  “Do you have class?”

her words left lucifer in a series of emotions, mostly disappointment. he’d hoped for something juicy and exciting –– something that could really take his mind off of the fact that he might single-handedly cause the apocalypse just by being out of hell, or the fact that the detective was nowhere to be found. “that’s either tragically boring or surprisingly interesting,” he said, sighing. “is this a real doctor? are you making sweet, sweet love in the doctor’s lounge?”

He looked back at her, watching her eyes as they looked over his features.  Sitting across from her like this felt like the easiest thing in the world.  Being with her in general was easy; it was easier for him to think, it was easier for him to feel like he actually had some sort of purpose in the world.  He couldn’t let her go.  “Stay,” he finally said with a small nod, “please.”

“I’m sort of glad you didn’t,” he admitted.  He’d spent so much time alone that he hadn’t realized just how lonely he’d been, until he wasn’t anymore.  And he wasn’t sure he was ready to go back to that.  “Don’t,” he whispered, head relaxing into her hand as she ran her hand through his hair.  “Just… Can we keep meeting at lunch?  It doesn’t have to be at the aquarium.  We could meet at a restaurant or something.”

And, just like that, the moment was over.  He sat up at the same time she did, crossing his legs in front of him.  Of course he should feel bad about this.  It wasn’t normal.  Nothing about the past week had been.  “It’s… fine,” he said, finally.  “I mean, it’s not.  I don’t know what it is,” he admitted, mirroring her by putting his head in his hands as well.  How did he explain to her that half of him wanted nothing more than to hold her, and the other half of him was considering checking himself into a psychiatric ward?  

“I don’t, though.  That’s the thing.  I know I should, but what you’ve said so far seems to hold its weight.  You got the TARDIS open and it’s not just an empty old box.  Your journal, your memories–I can tell that’s your reality, Rose.”  He ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up in a thousand different directions.  “I think it could be my reality, too.  But I’m having trouble sorting everything out up here,” he said, tapping a finger to his temple.  “I don’t think you’re insane at all.  And that’s got to mean that I’m mad, doesn’t it?”

“I should have just left last night, I’m sorry,” she said, shaking her head. She should have, but she didn’t regret getting to lay with him and sleep with him again. It still felt so familiar and easy. She smiled softly at him, reaching up and running her fingers through his messy hair as well. “God, that hair,” she muttered, laughing softly. 

When he finally started to wake up a few hours later, the first thing he noticed was that his right arm was trapped under something and something else was laying across his middle. Before he could let himself assume the worst, he reluctantly opened one eye and was met with the sight of blonde hair. Oh. His arm was wrapped around Rose’s back and her arm was stretched out across his stomach. Okay. He didn’t remember her joining him, but he was trusting his memory less and less.  Instead of tensing and trying to unwind himself, he rested his chin against her head and tried to resume the process of reasoning through everything.

Less than a month ago, he’d been perfectly happy to be just James.  It wasn’t a hard life.  He had a decent job, he had a pretty good set of mates that included him in trips to the bar or whatever it was that they were up to, even if he was less than attentive or seemed uninterested in whatever it was that they were doing.  But he’d opened that letter and knew he had to come to Woodshore, and life had been like an overturned fruit basket since.  

Maybe he’d suffered some sort of traumatic brain injury.  It would explain the missing memories.  It wouldn’t explain the whole mindreading alien thing, but he could learn to come to terms with that.  It also wouldn’t explain why he felt so at home with Rose, why he didn’t feel the need to be embarrassed about waking up next to her after they’d only known each other for roughly a week, or why everything with her felt like muscle memory.  But if he was willing to come to terms with the mindreading alien thing, he could also come to terms with the familiarity of being with Rose.  Those two went hand-in-hand, sort of, especially  since he’d seen her memories and seen how she felt about him.  Well, The Doctor.  Who was allegedly him.  

He was no closer to a logical conclusion and was considering going to some sort of neurologist to get himself checked out when he felt her stir.  “G’morning,” he whispered, suddenly afraid that speaking too loud would break something.  What, he didn’t know.

It took Rose a moment, probably a few, to realize where she was. It wasn’t like her to end up in some man’s bed but here she was, latched onto James like he was the most important man in her universe. And, well, he was. He always would be. 

The grace she showed him, considering the circumstances, was incredible. “I promise,” he nodded, turning to walk down the ramp and back towards the door. Before he reached it, he turned back to her. “You can stay as long as you want, if you wanted to look around or anything,” he said, taking another look around the room. With a glance back at her and a small smile, he stepped out and back into the now familiar condo. It felt like he’d just come back from another planet, and he had to force himself to move his feet towards the bathroom m. A quick shower helped his feelings a little. But his mind was still racing by the time he pulled on a pair of pajama pants and a shirt and finally laid down. Thought and exhaustion battled for a minute, but eventually exhaustion won out and he fell asleep.

“Yeah, I guess you were.  Well, nine-hundred years, I guess he would’ve had to have kissed at least a couple of people,” he grinned back at her, a hint of a blush on his own cheeks.  He felt another pang of guilt at her words, followed by an inexplicable surge of anger that it was something he didn’t even remember in the first place.  Even though he had been looking away, his gaze fell back on her when she took his hand.  “I’m sorry.”  None of this was her fault and she shouldn’t have to see the fallout from whatever it was that he could feel bubbling up inside him.  Gently, he leaned forward to press his lips to her forehead.  “I need some time,” he told her, unsure of exactly what he needed to do.  He felt like he could sleep for the next five years–he was mentally and emotionally exhausted. 

🔪 @ofrosetyler !! 

john could hear someone talking, but it sounded like he was hearing her voice underwater, warped and distant. he had his forehead in his hand and his eyes closed. he’d been getting more and more headaches, lately –– probably from the near-death beating he’d received before he was ripped from one reality to another. he cleared his throat, doing his best to fight through the pounding in his temples. he turned to face the woman who’d been speaking, and his eyes were heavy. “i’m sorry,” he said. “i… went away for a minute. i didn’t hear what you said.”

“No,” he admitted with a shake of his head.  “I don’t think I’ve ever really kissed anyone before.”  The more he thought about it, the more he was sure that he hadn’t.  Her sigh cut off his thought and he took a step toward her when he realized that she was tearing up again.  “And that was just going to be it?  We were never going to see each other again?”  It was a rhetorical question; he could tell by the look in her eyes that it was the case.  Bringing a hand up to place on her cheek, he brushed his thumb under her eye to wipe away some of the moisture.  That was when his mind was again among a set of thoughts and memories that were hers, and he pulled his hand away like he’d been shocked.  “Sorry,” he said, looking away from her as though he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t have.  “It’s touch.  I could hear you again, just then.” 

😈 @ofrosetyler !! 

lucifer was growing more and more agitated as each day passed, itching for some kind of answer he couldn’t grasp. without dr linda he’d all but decided there was no hope for him, and the nearest breakdown was just around the corner. so maybe in the end it was better that he hadn’t seen the detective either. still, that devilish inkling scratched at him, like a bee inside his head, and the more time he spent at lux, the more he missed his involvement with humanity. after all, how bad was the devil, really?

“hello, love,” lucifer said and grinned, sitting in the booth beside a woman he decidedly did not know. the music at lux pulsed, but he was practiced in speaking over it. “if you don’t mind, i am dying to stretch my legs a bit, and it has been ages.” he leaned forward, moving until his eyes caught hers. his grin lightened into a smaller smile, still cocky, confident. relieved. “tell me,” he said, keeping his eyes trained on hers so she wouldn’t look away, “what is it you truly desire?”

Rose wasn’t one to normally sit in a club, but she needed a break from studying. So, here she was, sitting in Lux in a booth by herself. Granted, that didn’t last long as a tall man sat right next to her. “Hello,” she greeted him with a polite smile. She hadn’t exactly planned on talking to him, but somehow felt like she had no choice. Once their eyes met, she leaned forward, inches from his face. “I want the Doctor to get his memories back,” she said truthfully, frowning slightly.

“There’s more?” he asked, his gaze following hers down the corridor that he didn’t realize she was standing in front of.  He couldn’t even begin to imagine just how much there was to see down that hallway.  

James shook his head, almost not even wanting to say it out loud.  But he would wager that Rose knew him better than almost anyone else.  “This is going to sound mental,” he said after a moment.  “I heard you.  I heard what you were thinking; you missed me, you love me.  Then I saw us travelling together, so many places.  And then Norway.  I left you,” he said, furrowing his eyebrows in anger at himself.  “Why would I do that?”