Disclaimer: Don't own a thing
Rating: K+
A/N: 10/Rose. Clearly, this takes place post-Doomsday, and occurs after she finds her way back to him. For the purposes of the story, however, I am pretending that the whole metacrisis-leave-her-in-the-parallel-universe-AGAIN nonsense didn't happen. Enjoy!
"What am I afraid of?" the Doctor thundered. "What am I afraid of?!"
"Yes!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air in frustration.
"I'm afraid of losing you!" he finally shouted. Rose froze and stood wide-eyed as all the energy drained out of him. His shoulders slumped and he ran a hand through his hair, leaving it even more disheveled than usual.
"I'm afraid that if you see me, the real me, you'll be scared enough that you'll leave me forever," he said dejectedly. "And I can't lose you, Rose, not again."
He turned away from her and gripped the railing. The room was quiet, and he was sure he'd run her off. Maybe it was for the best. He was so wrapped up in his own misery that he jumped when he felt her warm hand cover his own.
"Doctor," Rose said. "When was the last time you looked at me?"
"I look at you all the time," he protested.
"No," she disagreed, "you don't. You haven't really looked at me in ages." She tugged his hand until he was facing her. "Look at me, Doctor. What do you see?"
He resisted for a moment but did as she asked, starting at her shoes. Her trainers were scuffed and worn, silent testament to all the time they spent running for their lives. Her jeans, also slightly worn and comfortable-looking, settled low on her hips. She was wearing a purple jumper, pulled over her favorite pink camisole. Then he finally met her eyes…and inhaled sharply.
It was Rose, his Rose. But she wasn't the shopgirl he'd saved anymore. No longer was she the innocent young girl who blindly followed him everywhere with promises forever. Her eyes were old, and the brown now held flecks of gold. The Beast had been right; Valiant Child had died, leaving someone else in its place. Someone who defied the Laws of the Universe to get back to him. She was his Rose, but she was also Bad Wolf, savior of worlds and destroyer of empires.
"Rose?" he choked.
"Told ya," she teased, then sobered. "I'm not afraid of you Doctor. I never have been and I never will be, no matter how scary you seem to think you are. And I'm not going to run away; you're stuck with me forever, remember?"
He surprised her when he pulled her into a tight hug instead of answering, burying his head in her shoulder. She hugged him back, trying to put all the reassurance she could into her grip.
After a long moment, he pulled back slightly and met her eyes again. She, more than anyone, deserved to see his true self. He was sure she'd caught glimpses of it before. Maybe if he held on to her, kept her in the circle of his arms, he could delay her long enough to talk her out of running…after. Maybe she was telling the truth, and wouldn't run at all. Taking a deep breath, he lowered all of his defenses for the first time in centuries, letting her see exactly who he was, what he was capable of being. The Oncoming Storm.
Her smile was radiant. And he finally saw himself in her eyes.
A/N: This has been sitting on my flash drive for quite some time. Since school let out for 3 weeks starting last Friday, I'm going to try to get a few more posted, so keep your eyes open and please keep the reviews coming!