Rose panted as she ran, heavily questioning her life decisions.
Just this morning she had woken up, gotten breakfast, woken Jack, and gone to work. Same normal routine. And now here she was, running madcap through London, apparently being chased by the royal guards, alongside the crown
prince of all people!
Rose shouted in surprise as she nearly ran into a lamppost, John pulling her out of the way just in time. After that, she decided to leave further examination the morning's events till later.
John's POV
"Why, exactly, are we running for our lives?" Rose somehow managed to pant out, in between dodging civilians and keeping her grip on his hand. She shouted suddenly in surprise as she served wildly to doge a lorry.
John was impressed at her fortitude.
"We're running for our lives because I spotted a group of bodyguards ready to take me back to the palace trying to sneak up on us.
Weeeell, really the guards were trying to sneak up on me, and you invited me for lunch. And I do love chips, so you're along for the ride!" John shouted back, jumping wildly away from a speeding taxi that honked loudly at them as it careened around the corner.
"I suppose that's a fair point." Rose conceded thoughtfully, as John pulled them into an alley and they ducked behind some bins while they waited for the guards to pass them.
"Why, exactly, are we running from your bodyguards though?" Rose questioned, "Seems like they're people you'd tend to stick with, ain't they?"
John risked a quick glance at the mouth of the alley as he replied, "Not when you're taking an unescorted and unauthorized tour of London they aren't."
John paused as one of his customarily brilliant ideas popped into his head, "Hey Rose, since I'm already ducking the guards, I think I might just keep at it, I still have enough in my wallet to catch a train to France, and then who knows where I'll go from there, and since you just seem to have quit your job, you could come with me? If you like?"
Rose opened her mouth to answer him, a disappointed look on her face, "I'd love to John, but my brother-" she was cut off by a noise from her pocket.
~I'm to sexy for my shirt, so sexy it hurts~
John raised a single eyebrow.
He was quite proud of that skill, it had taken him many hours of practice in front of his bathroom mirror to achieve his mastery of it.
Rose's POV
Rose hurriedly dug out her phone from her pocket and answered, "Jack, I'm a little in the middle of something-" Jack interrupted her excitedly, "Rosie, I got the job at Torchwood, I ship out tomorrow if I accept! Do you think you could stay at Martha's until you find a cheaper place? I'm sorry to do this to you on such short notice but it's a great opportunity, and you've been pushing me towards getting out more so I figured you would be for it and-"
"Jack, Jack," Rose laughed, "it's fine, it's perfect actually, you don't have to worry about me, take what you need from the apartment, and arrange for the rest to be put in storage," she turned to give John a wide grin, "I think I'll be doing a bit of traveling."
Johns POV
Rose was grinning as she pulled John into the small cafe she swore up and down had the best chips in the known universe. It was tucked away between a bookstore and a haberdashery, and despite its small size it was a cheerful sunlit little place, with murals painted on the walls and people eating and talking quietly at the tables scattered around the shop.
The woman at the counter looked up from her book when she heard the bell on the door jingle as they stepped into the shop. Her face lit up at the sight of Rose, and she quickly walked over to give her a hug, reproaching her as she did so, "Rose! I haven't seen you in ages, just where have you been? Agatha has been missing you something terrible."
Rose just smiled as she was checked over for any injuries, and once given a clean bill of health, hugged again. "Shareen, I'm fine, really. I've just been a little busy, Lumic was working me to the bone."
Shareen gave Rose an exasperated look, "you know the offer for you to work here is still open? I know you wanted to earn you job by your own merit, and not your connections, but that man gives me the creeps, and I never seem to see you any more!"
Shareen paused,
"Wait, did you say 'was'? You've quit? Finally! Did you break his nose? Can I break his nose?" Shareen caught sight of John and paused in the midst of the buildup to her rant, "and who's this here?" She asked, eyeing John up and down, "Have you found yourself a boyfriend then Rose?" Not giving Rose the chance to offer any denials, she turned the full weight of her gaze on John.
John felt suddenly fearful, being the sole recipient of Shareen's attention. John began to sputter denials, but Shareen just patted his cheek ans shushed him, before leaving him and Rose some chips, calling behind her "On the house love, you need some meat on those bones!" As she disappeared into the back.
Rose looked at him sympathetically as he stood staring after where Shareen had disappeared, unsure what to do, having never been treated quite so brusquely before.
Rose's POV
Rose bit her cheek to keep from laughing at John's dumbfounded expression as he stared at the still swinging door where Shareen had disappeared into the back. "Don't worry, she has that affect on people." She reassured him, leading him by the hand to a nearby table as she did so.
Just as Rose was moving to seat herself across from John, she was intercepted by a small dark haired girl who zoomed around the counter and collided forcefully with Rose's legs.
Rose only just remained upright, but instead of scolding her she swept the now gleefully giggling child into her arms and spun them both around, "there's my Aggie girl!" Rose exclaimed, "look how big you are, you must be taller than me now! And so grown up! Are those grey hairs I see?" Aggie just playfully turned up her nose and stuck out her tongue out in response to the now routine exclamations of greying hair and wrinkles, and by doing so missed the devious look on her godmothers face. Rose was quick to take advantage of Agatha's playful scorn and began tickling her mercilessly. Agatha shrieked with laughter and began frantically trying to wiggle away from Rose.
It was to this scene that Shareen made her return, quickly taking in John's state of mild shock, and the brutal tickle attack being launched on her daughter by her honorary sister, all she could do was laugh. The startled exclamations and deer in the headlight expressions on the faces of the three, who hadn't realized she was there, only made her laugh harder.
John's POV
John found himself smiling as he looked at the woman sleeping on his shoulder. Despite her protests to the contrary, she had passed right out as soon as they had boarded the train, which was understandable considering their breathless run through London a few hours earlier.
He paused in his recollections to survey his surroundings.
The countryside sped past at a nearly sickening speed as the train hurtled through the English countryside on its way to France. From there, John though, they might make their way to Spain, and after that, he wasn't sure yet. He didn't know, and really, he didn't care.
And wasn't that exhilarating? The sheer freedom of not knowing and not caring where he was going next? Not having every moment of his day carefully planned out by, constantly having to adhere to the Royal Schedule.
He glanced down at Rose again, this time with fond bemusement.
who was this woman, his new traveling companion? He hadn't know her more than a few hours, and yet they had the easy camaraderie of old friends. It was nice, how irreverent she was, she didn't hesitate to put him in his place. She didn't hesitate to put anyone in their place.
John had no doubts that wether Rose was confronted with a King or a commoner, she would not hesitate to tell them exactly what she thought, should they provoke her.
His shoulders actually shook slightly with the effort to keep his laughter silent at the thought of what Rose would have had to say to some of the foreign dignitaries he'd had to deal with.
Rose's POV
Rose looked up blearily when her pillow began to move and shake, glaring at her perceived enemy, who looked torn between laughter and fear as he looked down to behold her spectacular bedhead, and her equally withering glare.
Rose was not a morning person. Rose was not a fan of waking up period, no matter the time. The only thing Rose was a fan of upon waking up was a strong cup of tea and the absence of people wanting to interact with her.
She continued to glare at her pillow for a moment, before she remembered the day's events so far, and with that remembrance came the sudden knowledge that her "pillow" was the crown prince of England.
Rose contemplated this, staring up at John for a moment as she did so, before giving a mental shrug and asking "How close are we to France? I'm in severe need of a cup of tea and I bet we could find a cafe at the station."
John opened his mouth to reply, but whatever he intended to say became redundant as the train shuddered to a stop and the people around them began to disembark. John let out a yawn as Rose sat up next to him, stretching his arms towards the ceiling and letting loose a gusty sigh as his back popped.
He shouldered the duffel bag that Rose had packed at Shareen's, and gestured for Rose to disembark first. John took and deep breath and didn't even try to keep the slow grin from spreading across his face as he looked out onto the station, and took in the freedom it represented and the adventure waiting just beyond it.
In front of him, Rose turned briefly to give him a look that showed just what she thought of him halting her journey towards the nearest source of tea, and he quickly gathered his wits and caught up to her, easily joining hands with her as he did so.