The Why
By Abby
Notes: Just a quick little drabble. Rose/ Metacrisis Ten. Set a few months after "Journey's End."
o O o O o O o
They had been caught in a flurry of snow only minutes after leaving the flat to run a couple of late-night errands. The light from the streetlamps caught the prisms of winter confection, making them glow in an ethereal manner. The snowfall from the night before brought about an insulated silence, completing the effect.
He bent down and kissed the snowflakes out of the corners of her eyes, chuckling as she squirmed from ticklishness. Her skin was ice cold to the touch, practically melting underneath the warmth his lips offered. Slowly using one gloved hand to free the other from its covering, he finally brought up his liberated fingers and brushed them across her cheek. He pulled back to see her smile at him softly, blond hair cascading back over her face. Even though she was looking right at him, she was miles away. Light years, even.
"Something troubling you, love?" Now that he had the liberty to say it, he reveled in using the term any time he possibly could. His Rose. His love. He was determined to remind her every day.
She snapped back to reality, shaking her head to allay any concerns on his part. "Nah, it's silly, really." She smiled again when he didn't reply, obviously waiting for her "silly" explanation. She blushed a bit and continued. "I was just thinking, and…" She trailed off, and when he still waited quietly, an epitome of patience, she felt overwhelmed by him. She lifted one hand and ruffled his brown hair, shaking a few stray snowflakes loose. A moment later, she found her voice again. "Why me?"
"Why you?" He quirked an eyebrow.
"Yeah. Why me, out of anyone in the whole of time and space? How did I get this lucky?"
The Doctor was about to make a quip about fate and plastic shop models, but he realized that she was expecting some sort of serious reply. Her expression had turned to one of mild anxiety. He sighed, knowing where this question had sprung from. "You say that as if I didn't consider my options. You want to know why I haven't left you for someone you think is better." The way she bit on her lip was a confirmation that he was on the right track. "Why do you doubt yourself?"
Rose looked down at the ground, feeling her resolve fading. Her voice cracked, his words having struck a chord deep within her. "I've always taken it for granted, but why should you love me? I'm always so immature, so selfish. I'm just a nobody from the estates, and you..." She sniffed, waving toward him with one hand, leaving all of her praises unvoiced.
"Now listen here," He gripped her shoulders gently and leaned his forehead to hers. Warm, brown eyes made contact with ones shimmering with unshed tears. He held her gaze. "Rose Tyler, you don't see yourself the way that I see you. When I look at you, I see the woman who chose that first day to put her trust in me, and by all rights I didn't deserve that trust. I see the woman that had such a passion for life that she made me yearn to live again. And I see the woman whose compassion stayed my hand, saving me from myself." He sought out her hands and gripped them tightly. "I see you, Rose, and I don't think, 'Why you?' You're the only one I see. Timelines colliding, endless worlds spinning orbits around the center of the universe… none of it matters without you."
He pressed into her, his lips touching hers in the lightest of kisses. Her breathing went ragged and the salty droplets spilled down her face, but after a couple of hiccups, she had calmed considerably. "Someday I'll believe that with unwavering certainty." She wiped at her face, giving him a tentative smile. "For now, though, I'm glad you're here. "
The Doctor flipped up the collar of his overcoat, watching her with fondness written all over his face. He regloved his now-cold hand and held it out to her, gripping her tightly when she interlaced her fingers with his. "I have the rest of my life to prove to you, you know," he said. His mind began to buzz with future dates and wedding rings.
"I know." Rose paused for a second, still overcome with the notion of him standing there beside her. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
They reoriented themselves and continued on their path down the street.