For the "Time & Chips" ficathon Anwhere But Cardiff. Thanks to Kara for the beta!
Rose was thrown backwards as the Doctor scrambles around, pulling at levers in the Tardis. She had learned a long time ago to hold onto anything securely fastened down and had wasted precious seconds asking where they were off to instead of grabbing tight. She secretly thinks the Doctor has sticky glue on his trainers and one of these days she was going to prove it.
"Where are we going?" She shouts over the din of the Tardis. Somewhere in the background, she thinks she hears a bell go off.
"Let's do something fun, something not remotely dangerous. I have something in mind."
She rolls her eyes and stares back at him, "You must be joking. You, avoid danger?"
He stares back, wounded, "It's not like I seek it out. It sort of…finds me."
"Right." She straightens up as the Tardis finishes its materializing sequence and shudders to a stop. The silence is in complete contrast to all the noise the Tardis was making a few moments earlier. "So what's the big surprise?"
"Take a look." He points at the doors and follows her as she throws them open and steps out.
"It's a city, yeah? Are we on Earth?" Rose continues to look left and right at the crowds. "We're in Asia! Oh, I've always wanted to come here."
She looks excitedly at the Doctor as he shrugs on his overcoat.
"How could we possibly get into trouble today? This is wonderful."
The skies were clear, the sun shining brightly without a cloud in the sky. Perfect.
"It's not going to rain."
She looks at him, eyes clouding slightly in confusion "It doesn't look like it. So tell me more about what we're doing here. Usually, it's somewhere random, somewhere in the future. Why so specific this time and why's it important that it doesn't rain?"
The Doctor tilts his head, as he casually grabs her hand and drags her along side him. The roads and sidewalks are congested and Rose swears that she would have lost the Doctor if he didn't have a firm grip on her hand.
"Huge festival happens every summer and I thought you would like to see it." He pauses for dramatic effect. "The biggest firework display in the universe. Weeeelll, almost the biggest fireworks display, we have to count the annual display on Omega Five. Too bad it's considered to be immoral thus illegal but you should see them one day. Spectacular."
Rose smiles at him, delighting in his enthusiasm. "Where's is at, this festival? It's right here in the city? I don't see how that's possible."
"Imagine it! Thousands of people gathered together, despite the heat, to spend the day waiting for the fireworks."
"Where would thousands of people fit?" Rose glances around at the towering buildings surrounding her, built consistently side by side, covering everything in sight.
"Rose, this city is amazing. You wouldn't believe how many people live and work here." He taps his forehead as he nods at her, "This is a culture that thinks 'bigger on the inside'. "
"Still don't know where they would put thousands of people."
He shakes his head, sadly. "No imagination, Rose. C'mon, let's see if we can drag it out of you."
Rose laughs as she trails behind him, clutching at his hand. He runs at a break neck speed, weaving his way through the crowds. She finds herself murmuring apologies as she bounces after him and rushes headlong into his back as he makes a sudden stop.
"There, over there," He bounces on his heels, pointing at a large stadium. "See, isn't it magnificent?"
Rose looks up, squinting into the sunlight and ahead of her stands a large stadium. Colorful, alarmingly large and surprisingly non-descript. It is surprising at how perfectly it fits into the landscape of the congested city and she is suitably impressed. "What's it called?"
"The Meiji Jingu Gaien Sports Arena. Say that three times fast." He turns to her as he speaks, "It's open to the public, and they just have to register. There's a gym, track, sauna and in the winter it's even an ice skating rink."
"We could come back for that, yeah?" Rose starts to walk towards the building. "When's this festival you mentioned?"
"Tonight." The Doctor glances around at the swelling crowds. "People start to gather early in the day and they stay all day."
Rose tugs at the Doctors hand, "What are we waiting for?"
They pay their entry fee and as night falls, Rose and the Doctor join the crowds and wander aimlessly throughout the stadium. The Doctor insists that they not miss a single thing. For Rose, it is one of the happiest days she's experienced in a long time. Mickey leaving coupled with her father's rejection had caused her spirits to sink and for the first time in a long time she is content.
"Almost time." The Doctor comes to a stop and looks up at the sky. "We'll watch from here."
He takes the blue mat that they had been given upon their entrance, and places it on the ground and gestures to Rose to do the same. She sits quietly next to him, absorbing the chaos around them.
For the next hour, they watch the pyrotechnic display uninterrupted. The Doctor leans over and whispers, "Did you know that fireworks are actually called fireflowers-hanabi-in Japanese? The fireworks sort of flower as they open. Neat, huh?"
She laughs to herself and simply enjoys the moment. This is why she travels with him, why she trusts him above anyone else. He loves every moment, of every day and it is infectious. She's never seen anything this amazing and wants to carve every detail into her mind, commit it all to memory. She will never get tired of these amazing days.
Leaning over, she places her hand on his arm and pulls herself closer to his warmth. "Thank you for today. I loved every moment of it."
"Yeah?"
"Yes." She nods emphatically. "Every moment."