Note: Dark Doctor. Drabble. Set during the end of The Next Doctor. Also serves as a headcanon for my DarkTen muse.
The Hero With Blood In His Eyes
Let's welcome home the soldier boy from (far away, far away).
No angel of mercy; just a need to destroy (fire away, fire away)
Let's toast the hero with blood in his eyes.
The scars on his mind took so many lives.
~ "Die Hard the Hunter" by Def Leppard
Those who had traveled with him in days long since past would not recognize him now. A smile twitched on the Doctor's lips at the thought, but then it was replaced by a thin, firm line.
His time after the War, after the Battle of Canary Wharf, after landing on and being nearly killed on the planet Midnight had changed him. After the Time Lords had died, the universe had become less kind—but then, so had he.
No second chances. I'm that sort of a man.
Half of his face was bathed in shadow; the other was lit by flickering orange flames. The shifting contrast of color made it difficult to read his expression.
Reinette had referred to him as an angel—her lonely angel. That was a laugh. He was no angel—he never had been. He'd used to have so much mercy; now, he hardly had any.
The humans surrounded him, as always, drawn to him as if by some magnetic pull. Here, standing in the streets of 1851 London, the Doctor followed Jackson Lake back to the human's house.
Earlier, the crowd had applauded and cheered their gratitude for him defeating the CyberKing. A wane smile crossed his lips now. They thought him a hero, and he was no hero.
Let's toast the hero with blood in his eyes. The scars on his mind took so many lives, he thought with a mental sardonic laugh.
Still, he'd allowed Jackson to change his mind about the Christmas dinner invitation. Not many could do that.
Well, there was no looking back now, especially not when they were in front of Jackson's house with his son and Rosita waiting for them.
The Doctor looked at their expectant faces, stifled a sigh, and allowed himself to be ushered inside. It would only be for an hour or two, he told himself, and then he would be home free, on the loose once more in his TARDIS.
He found that he couldn't wait.