Author's note: Wow look at that long chapter! More on the Doctor, Sif being her wonderful self and the beginning of a plot yay. I hope you'll like how the Doctor turned out to be, I'm quite anxious about it. (And, of course, the Doctor is Ten. But there was a hint about his other selves a few chapter earlier if you remember well.)
A big thanks to Sam, who's been so far beta-reading all the chapters I sent her this week. Awesome job!
Rose sat on one of the high stools by the counter separating the kitchen from the living room. She watched Loki making tea without a word, until he put a mug in front of her and looked at her expectantly. She knew she had to talk, she had promised, but she couldn't think straight, not when she was thinking about him. Memories, buried for so long, came back to her by thousands, making her head spin. She had a slight cough to hide her embarrassment and took the mug in her hands, letting its warm calm her a bit.
"I was nineteen when I met him. Some students cornered me in the basement of the shop where I was working and he came out of nowhere to rescue me. He took my hand and told me to run. Way to make an entrance." She smiled to herself, fond of the memory. "I was dating Mickey at that time, and just about to start my second year of art school, but I didn't care. The Doctor, he has this magnetism that makes you want to travel with him. When you meet him and he asks you to come with him, you know you'll regret it your whole life if you say no… And that's how we travelled for about a year together."
Leaning against the fridge, arms folded on his chest, Loki was listening to her. When he noticed her struggling for words, for which memories to tell him and to keep for her, he simply asked "Is it true he only travels with young women?"
"No." Her voice was harsher than she had wanted. "We met Adam in Utah and he travelled a bit with us, but got himself kicked out because of how stupid he was. And there was Jack…"
There was something in her voice, nostalgia and sadness, which showed she missed this Jack as much as she did with the Doctor and travelling. Loki was tactful enough not to ask more about him and to let her going at her own rhythm.
"I know what they say about him, that he only brings chaos wherever he goes. That's so not true. Travelling with the Doctor, it's... life-changing. It's not just about the travelling, it's so much more than that. He showed me a better way of living my life. You don't just let things happen, you make a stand and try to change them. Having the nerve to do what's right when everybody else ignores the problem. But, yes, he doesn't use conventional ways to reach his goals. I saw him stealing and I saw him hurting people and lying, and cheating. And I helped him. That's why police all around the world wants him. Because he doesn't go by the book, even if it's to achieve good things."
She took the time to drink a bit of her tea, looking at Loki from the corner of her eyes. He hadn't moved since the beginning of her story, his mug of tea left to cool on the kitchen counter, and was only looking at her. He no longer seemed as mad as he had been in the hallway, but was not his quiet self yet, his eyes still angry. But she knew he wasn't going to yell at her once more, he just wanted the truth, nothing but the truth.
"We felt in love along the way." She ignored his reaction, the way his body stiffened at her words. "I promised him forever. I could see myself, for years and years, discovering every country, every civilisation of the world. Just travelling with him, it was fine with me. Just him, me, and the most amazing car I've ever seen... But we came back to London once, because I was missing my mum and dad. And that's when it happened." Her voice was hoarse. "There was something wrong in a laboratory, some scientists doing illegal experiments on human emotions. It all went wrong in less than an hour, it was a nightmare. He tried to convince me to run away, because it was too dangerous. But I was stubborn enough to stay with him. We were about to solve the problem, just about to win, when we got separated. It was my entire fault, I know it. And that's when my dad and the whole police arrived. I remember nothing but my dad taking me in his arms and bringing me outside."
She remembered her father's arms around her body, preventing her from running back into the building. She remembered screaming and kicking, scratching her father until he bleed. She remembered the only way to get away from him had been to kick him in the crotch – he refused to talk to her for a whole month after that. And, mostly, she remembered the empty room, the Doctor gone, and her breakdown.
"When I managed to escape from the police, the Doctor was already gone."
"He left you?!" She couldn't miss the disgust in Loki's voice, the anger in his eyes – but that anger no longer was toward her, and it made her ill-at-ease.
"He had no other choice! He's done lots of illegal stuff, he would have been thrown to jail in a heartbeat!"
"Don't make excuses for him. It doesn't mean that's okay to leave you behind! You're too important to be left behind!"
She looked at him in shock, her mouth opened as if she wanted to answer something but didn't know what to say. She remembered the night of the theft, how he'd chosen the most dangerous path instead of jumping by the window, only because she couldn't follow him. Leaving her behind had never been an option, not even when there were policemen everywhere, not even when he could have tried to escape.
They stared at each other for way too long, silently communicating by the many feelings in their eyes. Anger and irritation, fondness and attachment, trust and doubts. She didn't know how long they remained like that until she finally looked away.
"Anyway. I went back to school and got my Arts degree. I knew I could work for the white-collar, because they look for people who know things about arts. My dad is the chief of the branch so I got in easily despite my past as a companion. For months I looked for the Doctor using the database. I needed to find him. But he's just like you, good at vanishing. After a while, I found somebody had heard from him in Norway. When I got there, it was too late... So I went back to work and settled into a normal life. I never stopped looking for him though..."
She sighed and looked back at him with a sad smile and a little shrug.
"It's funny, you know. Nobody was willing to give me your case, because of my history with the Doctor. Saying I was going to fail because I have a spot for men doing illegal things. Guess I proved them right."
Loki couldn't help but smirk this time as he leaned on the counter in front of her. They remained silent for a while, only a few inches away from each other, without looking away.
"There's something about you, Rose Tyler. When I look at you, I can't catch my breath."
When she opened her eyes that morning, lost between sleep and real life, it took her time to notice the bed didn't feel quite right and neither did the walls, the dim light, or even the smell of the room. Her fingers reached to her right, only to find cold sheets. Rose closed her eyes as memories from the night slowly came back to her. She remembered Loki and talking about her past, the pasta he had cooked for her and the hours spent in the bed, just talking and laughing lightly. And wine. Lots and lots of wine. Her eyes opened again, widely, as she lifted the sheets to look at her own body. A sigh of relief came through her lips when she saw she was still wearing her tank top and knickers. She sat up and looked around her, looking for her trousers, when voices from the living room surprised her.
Slowly, as silent as possible, she stood up and came near the door to eavesdrop. She easily recognized Sif's voice – as if it could have been someone else anyway.
"... trust a cop! You just can't! And she's not just a cop, she's a cop's daughter! If she doesn't catch you, he will, and neither of us want you in jail, Loki. I've watched you whining for months because of her, I won't..."
That's when Rose decided to open the door, and two pairs of eyes immediately looked at her. She was suddenly very aware of the way she was dressed – or undressed, for all it mattered – and felt her cheeks grow red as Sif was obviously checking her out, jumping to conclusions.
"Seriously?" Her voice was one octave higher, not looking away even if it was obvious she was talking to Loki. "You shagged a cop?!"
She turned around, hands on her hips, to furiously glare at Loki. He responded with an emotionless face, as to make it clear it was none of the brunette's business. The mental discussion, if one could even call it that, last for a while, and Rose could only stare at them and wait. Loki raised an eyebrow, as if making a point. The silence remained for a few more seconds before Sif slowly turned around to look back at Rose, frowning.
"I confessed all my crimes to you. Why am I not being interrogated right now?"
"I kind of... forgot to mention you in my reports?"
Understanding appeared on Sif's face. She softened a bit, unclenching her fists.
"I'm not in the database yet." She proudly smiled to herself, but went back to her serious face in a second. "Why would you do that?"
Rose only shrugged as an answer, which caught Sif off-guard. She frowned even more, looked at Loki, then back at Rose, her lips twitched and, without a warning, she left the flat. Rose's eyes widened as she looked at Loki, who only smirked.
"You did that because you like her, don't you?" Rose quickly nodded, making him chuckle. "Now she thinks she owes you, she hates that. Don't worry, it's just her ego, it won't last long."
"Did you really whine?"
"Shut up."
She didn't quite know how they settled down in the routine of living together. It just happened, without any of them complaining about it. She only left once, to pick some of her stuff at her flat, then came back. Always the gentleman, he gave her the guest room, and she put her clothes in the wardrobe and her drawing tools on the desk. But, when the thunder rumbled in the middle of one night, frightening her and reminding her of that time the Doctor almost got struck by lightening, she sought refuge in Loki's arms. They never spent a night without each other from this day on.
He'd leave the flat sometimes and she knew not to ask questions about it, she knew exactly what he was doing. In some twisted way, she didn't care. He was always giving her money, without any particular reason, encouraging her to do something with her hands again. She had hesitated at once, not appreciating sponging off him, but had finally bought some clay. Her days were divided between wandering in town with her camera in hands and sculpting in his workshop – which was full of famous canvas but, once again, she didn't want to ask. For the first time since she had stopped travelling with the Doctor, she felt herself living again. And it was the most amazing feeling in the world.
She was working on a new piece, hands dirty with clay, when she heard the sound of the lift, quickly followed by lively conversation. Loki has been right when he had told her Sif would change her mind about her. The two women were getting along, as if nothing had ever happened between them, even if a "Hannah" would sometime slip in Sif's words.
Rose quickly stood up, leaving her sculpture behind as she went to meet them in the living room. Loki's eyes immediately fell on her as she entered the room, a small smile on his lips. Nothing had happened between them since their feverish kiss – well, except sleeping together, of course – but he never hid his attraction toward her. And, as she had rapidly noticed, he seemed to like her new sense of fashion better, with her shorts and oversized tee-shirts instead of her ladylike suits. Just like now, as he scanned her body, smiling at the clay marks on her hands, arms, and face.
"Rose!" Sif shouted with a grin on her lips. "I have a gift for you!"
Rose only frowned, suspiciously looking at the brunette. "How stolen is this gift?"
Loki has a victorious laugh as Sif was cursing between her teeth and he held out his hand to her. She took a £20 note out of her pocket to give it to him.
"I can't believe you're bidding on how predictable I am..." Rose shook her head. "But I still want to know what the gift is."
From the back pocket of her jeans this time, Sif took two little invitation cards and showed them to Rose, excitation all over her face.
"Two seats for Die Walküre!"
Taken by surprise, Rose glanced at Loki, who mouthed the word 'opera' with a wink. She immediately smiled at Sif, trying to be as natural as possible. She was tactful enough not to tell her friend she had never been to the opera before and that she wasn't that thrilled at the idea of spending four hours watching something in German. She chose the easy way.
"Who is the second invitation for?"
"Well, Loki, of course! And you need to change, you can't go to the opera dressed as a college dropout. Choose your prettiest dress!"
"All my dresses are at my flat..."
She really hoped it would be an excuse good enough not to spend the night out. But it was without taking Loki into account, and the way he jumped at the chance.
"If we leave now, we'll have the time to go there for you to dress without being late."
She sighed, knowing she'd never have the last word. "Okay, fine. Just let me clean myself up a bit."
He spent the whole ride explaining the plot of the opera and she never found the nerve to tell him he had lost her after the first two minutes. So she nodded and 'hum hum' once in a while, her eyes lost in the contemplation of the city on the other side of the window. The whole thing looked like a date and she had no idea if she enjoyed it or not, too confused for that. Of course she liked Loki... well, more than liked, if she was honest with herself, but there were so many subjects they had agreed not to talk about – the Doctor, what would happened once she started working again, Loki's life before the con man, and that mysterious brother of his Sif sometimes mentioned – that Rose knew a relationship between the two of them was bound to fail. And yet she couldn't stop thinking about it.
She was so lost in her thoughts Loki had to touch her shoulder for her to realise they were now parked in front of her building. She only muttered "I'll be quick" before leaving the car. She went up the stairs four at a time... only to freeze in the hallway when she noticed her door was ajar. Her cop senses immediately back, she cautiously pushed the door open and found her flat empty. But she knew better.
It only took her a few seconds to take the gun she hid in the chest of drawers near the door and, pointing it in front of her, she slowly made her way into the flat. Everything was silent around her but she could feel someone else's presence somewhere between the four walls. She was in the middle of her living room, ready to check behind the couch, when the lights suddenly switched on. She turned around, finger on the trigger and...
"Jack!?" Her voice was higher than she had expected.
"Hello there, wolf cub!"
Her eyes widened against her will. Nobody had called her that – or her real nickname, for all it mattered – in years. Actually, she hadn't seen Jack in years and him standing in the middle of her flat looked surreal to her. She took her time to look at him. His face was the same, with the wild suspicious grin and the gleeful eyes. But his hair was different, his shoulders were broader and... oh, the long coat was obviously a perk.
"Looking good, Cap."
He winked and grinned at her. "I'd look even better if we could have this discussion without you pointing a gun at me."
Only then did she realise she was still pointing her weapon at him and, after unloading it, she dropped it on the floor. Jack didn't seem to notice her awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other as he hurried to hug her. She had a little surprised scream that ended in a laugh, shaking her legs as he picked her up.
"So, why are you here? And how do you even know where I live?" she asked him after their hug.
"Oh you're hurting me, Rose Tyler! Can't a gentleman pay a lady a visit once in a while?"
Rose's 'you haven't called in five years, you idiot' look was enough of an answer for Jack. He lost his smile, with that straight face of his she had once seen once in the past – Satellite Five and their sick reality shows. Suddenly, she wasn't so sure she wanted to hear why Jack had broken into her flat.
"It's the Doctor."
She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She had seen it coming, of course, but hearing it from Jack made it real, and she wasn't sure she'd be able to handle what was about to follow.
"It's the stars..."
"...They're going out." She finished for him, and Jack nodded. "Now we're in trouble."
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