Without Rose, the TARDIS felt rather empty, the Doctor noticed as he fiddled with the wires under the TARDIS console. Usually, he would have her there while he worked on repairs – they'd spent hours there in the console room, just the two of them, the Doctor fixing up the TARDIS and Rose keeping him company.
If she was happy, loaded with energy, she would talk his ear off, rambling about anything and everything. He liked when she did that because he learned more about her, and more of Rose was always a wonderful thing. That, at least, he could admit.
Sometimes, though, when she was tired, she would simply plop down in the jumpseat with a book, put her feet up on the console, and sip on a cup of tea in comfortable silence. He liked that, too, because he could sneak glances – take breaks and just watch her. The way the corner of her mouth turned up when she thought something was amusing, the way she bit her lip when it was something suspenseful or mysterious, the way her shoulders relaxed and her hair, still wet from a shower, fell over her eyes –
"Ow!" he cried suddenly as wires sparked around his fingertips, drawing him from his train of thought. A lovely train of thought. But a bit concerning – it was becoming overwhelming, his fondness for Rose Tyler. He opened his mouth to say something to her, but his eyes scanned over empty space and he frowned when he remembered her absence. The silence in the console room was suddenly too much, despite the ship's steady humming.
It was always like this whenever she went to visit Jackie – the Doctor had joined them for tea a few hours earlier, Rose dragging him along while he complained.
"Do I have to go?" he'd whined. And then Rose had looked at him with her puppy-dog eyes and he'd sighed and shrugged on his coat, taking her hand as they walked to Jackie's apartment.
It was worth it though, he knew, when she'd beamed at him with her tongue-in-teeth smile and reached up to press a soft kiss to his cheek.
After tea, though, Jackie liked to drag Rose on short shopping trips, and there was only so much of domestic life the Doctor could handle. She'd shoved him back in the direction of the TARDIS.
"I'll be home before eleven," she'd promised him. His hearts warmed when she'd said it – he always got a soft, fuzzy feeling when she called the TARDIS home. The hum of the ship increased in pitch for a moment, agreeing with his thought.
As if on cue, the door to the TARDIS swung open noiselessly and Rose shuffled inside. The Doctor darted out from under the console.
"Hello," Rose said brightly, and he grinned at her as she dropped her shopping bags on the grating so she could shrug her jacket off and hang it over the railing.
"Welcome back!"
"Ta," she said, giggling and picking up her bags. "I'm just gonna to put these things away and make a cuppa. You want one?"
"Oh, yes. And some – "
"Jammie Dodgers," she said with him, and he grinned.
"I'll pick out a movie?" he offered.
"Sounds lovely. Be back in a mo."
Rose disappeared down the corridor toward the kitchen, pausing before she turned the corner to give him one last brilliant smile. The Doctor made his way to the media room, removing his pinstriped coat and loosening his tie as he shuffled through the thousands of DVDs that lined the shelves – a method of movie-watching that Rose still insisted on using, even though he'd explained to her they had centuries' worth of other technology to choose from.
He was looking for a twenty-seventh century comedy he hadn't shown her yet, deciding that he wanted to hear her laugh, when he heard the tiny thud of her footsteps on the carpeted floor behind him. He hated carpets, but Rose liked them, and he liked Rose. As did the TARDIS, so he discovered in his ninth life when he discovered that the ship had opted for a velvety rug at Rose's request.
She placed the tea tray on the nearest table and picked up her mug – a swirly pink and blue one she'd bought at the last intergalactic market he'd taken her to, one that kept her tea perfectly warm no matter how long she left it out. She held out the Doctor's, a plain dark blue one, and he accepted it gratefully, taking a long sip and smiling.
"Sweet enough for ya?" she teased, drinking her own.
"Perfect, thank you."
He placed the cup down gently to turn back to the shelf and locate the film he'd been searching for when he heard her yawn loudly.
"Can we skip the film tonight?" she asked as he turned around. She was already snuggling under a blanket on her claimed couch corner, nursing her cup.
"Course we can," he said amiably, plopping down in the center of the couch and kicking his feet up onto the table in front of him. Rose tucked her legs over his lap, leaning back into her pillow and sighing.
"Jackie wore you out, then," he teased, trailing his fingers up and down her calf absentmindedly.
"You have no idea," Rose groaned, but there was a humorous tone to her voice that made him smile. "She made me walk into every single shop we went past."
"That sounds like your mother."
"They've rebuilt Henricks, you know. I forgot how much I hated that place until I stepped inside it again. I did find some nice clothes there, though. Had to get new shoes again, after that last incident on Fairvos, when that alien dog peed on them and they melted."
She gave him a pointed look and he held up his hands in mock defense.
"I was an entirely innocent party in that scenario!" he said. "At least they weren't on your feet at the time!"
"Well, yes, but the point still stands. No more planets with toxic peeing dogs, no matter how cute they were. I loved those shoes."
Her eyes drifted down the Doctor's legs, her gaze falling on his worn and dirty white converse. Her eyes lit up suddenly and she nearly spilled her tea.
"Oh! I almost forgot!" she exclaimed, shoving her mug into his hands. "I'll be right back!"
She darted from the room, leaving the Doctor on the couch feeling rather confused. A moment later she was back, her arms tucked behind her back, hiding something. Her smile was wide, but her demeanor was suddenly shy. She was nervous – he could tell from the way she chewed on her bottom lip.
"What is it, Rose?"
She shuffled her bare feet on the ground and seemed to hesitate for a moment. His brow furrowed.
"Rose, are you alright?"
The moment she looked up from the floor and saw his concerned expression, she shook her head. The Doctor relaxed, only slightly at first, but the corners of his mouth turned up into a bright, albeit confused, grin as he watched her worry melt into a soft, sweet smile.
"No, no, everything's fine! It's just – um, well, I got you something. While I was out today."
"Wha – "
"Here," she said, revealing the gift-wrapped box she had hidden behind her back. The wrapping paper was a dark blue that sparkled in the dim light. She stepped forward and shoved it into his arms, suddenly eager. "Open it!"
He accepted the box from her gingerly, feeling excited himself.
"What is it?"
"Just open it and find out, you daft alien."
"Fine, fine," he laughed, tearing at the corner of the paper to reveal a cardboard box with a lid. He looked up at Rose, who was watching him intently.
"Go on, then," she said. "Look inside!"
The Doctor removed the lid carefully and pushed aside the tissue paper inside the box and couldn't help but laugh happily when he saw what was inside. It was a bright pink pair of converse. The wide grin that crossed his face was entirely involuntary as he hurriedly took them out of the box, kicking off his dirty white shoes and slipping on the new colorful ones. He admired them as he tied the laces, excitement and giddiness mounting while he continued rambling to Rose.
"Absolutely brilliant, these are!" he exclaimed as he stood up straight, tapping his toes on the floor.
"I was in the shop anyways, looking for shoes," she said, beaming at him. "And then I saw those, and I thought of you – "
He interrupted her quickly, crushing her to his chest in a tight hug. Her arms came up around his neck immediately and he swung her in a circle.
"You are brilliant, have I told you that, Rose Tyler?" he said as he set her down.
"And I figured – since I needed shoes anyways - I bought a pair for me, too. We'll match," she giggled.
"Molto bene!" he said happily, causing her to laugh more.
"I'm glad you like them."
"They're brilliant, Rose, really, they are!"
She bit her lip again, and he could tell she was hesitating.
"What is it?"
"Do you know what today is?" she asked him after a moment. When he stared at her blankly, she shook her head and smiled.
"I haven't a clue," he admitted.
"It's been two years. Since I met you – since I started travelling with you. I noticed when I looked at the calendar at Mum's – March 26. Mind you, that's not counting the year you accidentally skipped – "
The Doctor's jaw went slack with awe as he stared at her – a tiny, pink and yellow, wonderfully special human – who could make him speechless with a gesture as simple as a pair of shoes.
Rose trailed off when she noticed his expression.
"Doctor?" she asked softly, reaching up and gently brushing his hair off of his forehead. He snapped out of his trance and smiled down at her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to him. She snuggled into his embrace without a moment's thought and he brushed his lips ever so lightly against her forehead.
"Thank you, Rose," he whispered. "For everything."
He felt her smile into his shirt, and knew she heard the words he didn't say.
I love you.
"You're welcome," she replied softly, and though the words were muffled, he knew she felt the same as she hugged him tighter.
I love you too.
/
I hope you all enjoyed this! I have absolutely loved writing it, I've been having outrageous Ten/Rose feels this past week. There's a possibility of a second installment of this, if enough of you are interested – a conclusion that's a bit less fluff and more bittersweet if you will. So let me know if you want that or if you like this just as is! Thanks for reading lovelies.
Nicole