Doctor Who. Spoilers for the Wedding of River Song. This is where the Doctor was while River was with her parents at the end of the episode.
I own nothing because I'm not brilliant.
Tutor
"I can go help Rose Tyler with her homework," he had said, and at that moment, his voice cracked. A far off look entered his eyes and he looked so very old and tired.
When all was said and done, with the universe thinking him dead, he was left alone with his TARDIS.
Without thinking, he set coordinates on the console, wistful.
Rose Tyler flipped through the pages of her physics book in the library, scowling. Mickey had ditched her after he tried to explain velocity to her for the umpteenth time. So she sat alone, ready to rip out her hair. She kept staring at the formula, the random letters making her head hurt.
'V equals the change in X over the change in T,' she muttered, scrawling out the equation at the top of the paper before inserting the given numbers.
"Ahrgh," she groaned as she ended up with the wrong answer once more.
"Is there anything I can help you with, miss?" came a voice from behind her.
Rose whipped around to see an oddly dressed man with a bowtie looking at her quizzically. He seemed to look smart.
"Just doin' some physics homework. 'S not exactly my best subject," she said.
"Oh, physics. Physics, physics, physics," he cracked his knuckles, looking over her shoulder at the book.
"Yeah," Rose raised a dark brow, "Who are you, I've never seen you 'round here before?"
"John Smith, tutor," the Doctor introduced himself to Rose Tyler.
"Rose," she replied.
Rose, his Rose, was sitting right in front of him. It took a great deal of effort not to just stare at her. She looked the same for the most part. Her blonde hair was less peroxide and more golden, her cheeks were slightly rounder, and she looked so young. Then he remembered that she was young when she met him, just nineteen.
"So, physics," he pulled out the chair next to her and sat down next her. She regarded him strangely, but shrugged it off. The man, Mr Smith, was kind enough to help her, so she wasn't going to question it.
He took a look at the textbook, grade ten. She couldn't have been more that fifteen.
"So, if a ball drops from the top of the London Eye..."
The tutor explained the problem thoroughly, correcting her mistakes without berating her, and Rose smiled upon the completion of her homework.
"I can't believe I finished, thank you so much!" she beamed at him, tongue sticking out a little in her signature Rose smile.
"You're very bright, you just needed someone to explain it," the Doctor said with a grin.
"I can't thank you enough," Rose said.
A librarian glared at her, causing the teen to blush sheepishly.
"Are you always here?" Rose asked quietly, "Because I've got a test next Friday and would appreciate the help."
"I'm around," the Doctor replied vaguely.
Rose moved to stand and shrugged on her dark brown jacket and the Doctor couldn't help but notice that it looked like the one she had when she traveled with him. The Doctor stood as well, albeit a bit awkwardly.
"So," Rose started, "If you've got no one else to tutor, d'you want to go get some chips? As a thanks for helping me," she asked.
Her brown eyes were wide and he couldn't bring himself to decline. He knew in the back of his mind that he couldn't stay long, but she was Rose and he was the Doctor. There was nothing else in the universe that seemed more right.
They left the library and walked a little ways, passing the Powell Estate. The Doctor looked at the building, feeling a pang as he imagined his old, large-eared self and Rose dashing up and down the stairs the day they met.
He turned his attention to the girl next to him. She talked about school, her mum, her friend who had left her at the library because she didn't understand.
"I'm not too great at school, too dim, I s'pose," she said.
The Doctor stopped walking, causing Rose to halt abruptly.
"You are not too dim, Rose Tyler. You are brilliant," he said.
Rose's eyes widened, "How'd you know my last name?" Her name rolled off his tongue so easily, like he'd said it a million times before.
"It was in your text book and on your assignment paper," he said nonchalantly.
"Right."
They started walking again at a leisurely pace, hands next to each other but not touching. His fingers twitched, but he'd just scare her off if he tried to hold her hand. Just this one last time, he wanted to hold her hand.
"Here it is," Rose pointed to the all too familiar shop, "C'mon," she grabbed his arm, tugging him along.
Close enough, he thought.
They sat down at a table, a large plate of chips between them.
"How long have you been a tutor?" she asked between bites.
"Since I got out of school," the Doctor said.
"Huh. How old are you anyway? Twenty five, six?" she asked.
"Twenty three," he lied, "I look mature for my age."
"No," Rose said, "you look young, except your eyes. They look like they should belong to a man who's been to the end of the universe and back," she mused thoughtfully.
The Doctor smiled softly, feeling heat rise to his cheeks and his eyes water. He brushed it aside, focusing on Rose. Rose, the name that kept him fighting, the one thing he believed in. Her.
She had been asking him a question, but his mind had been elsewhere.
"So, will you?" her doe eyes stared at him and he noticed how little makeup she was wearing and dear heavens she was so young.
"Sorry?"
"Will you tutor me before my test? It's on Friday and if you'd help me on Thursday...I'll pay. I don't know how much you charge..." she trailed off.
"I'll be there. And you'll owe me a plate of chips," he smiled and his hearts fluttered at the sight of her relieved grin.
She looked down at the table, smile still tugging on her lips, blush rising to her cheeks. She looked up.
"I feel like I know you," she blurted out.
"Same," the Doctor croaked.
He wanted nothing more than to tell her of her future, to whisk her away right now. But he couldn't, because then Nine would never meet her and everything would be messed up and he wouldn't be so selfish, but dear God he just wanted to hold her one last time, to kiss her as this body never had, and to tell her what he couldn't at Bad Wolf Bay.
"So, next Thursday?" he asked to change the topic.
She nodded and reached for a chip at the same moment he did. Their hands met and lingered there. The Doctor pulled away quickly, closing his eyes. His fingers twitched and he just touched Rose Tyler's hand.
The Doctor walked back to the TARDIS, parked near the library. Rose had gone home with a wave and a thanks, and said she was looking forward to seeing him next week. His hearts swelled as he entered the TARDIS, running his hand along the console. He felt like dancing, twirling around childishly because he was so giddy. He would go next week, but that'd be it. He'd say he was moving. That was the plan.
He noticed a missed message on the console and grimaced. All it said was 'Hello, Sweetie'. He'd talk to River later, because he was currently in Rose-induced haze.
He planned to tell Rose that he was moving next week, but a large part of him doubted it. Because he was the Doctor and she was Rose Tyler, and no two things went together as well as they did. Not even fish fingers and custard.
End.
Yeah, that was it. I hope it was enjoyable to read, and I hope I got them in character. Sad11 is harder to write than Sad10, since 11 just bounces around all hyper. And yes, the 'physics' bit is a callback to 'School Reunion'.