College: Falling for Him

Rating: General Audiences

Pairing: Ten/Rose

Other Tags: College AU, Human AU, Modern AU, Meet-Cute, Fluff

Warnings: None

Summary: Sometimes, it's a good thing to not be paying attention. Or at least, that's what Rose tells herself as she gets knocked to the ground.

Word Count: 829

Welcome/welcome back to Day 2! Time for some fluff. Human AU's are among my favorite for The Doctor and Rose. I mean sure they are still clueless about the other's affection half the time, but hey: they don't have to worry about differing lifespans.

Rose Tyler stood in front of the student center, taking a deep breath before she went inside. She was among the thousands of freshmen at the University of Cambridge starting that term. She ignored the people passing her, holding on to the feeling of achievement she felt simply standing in front of the building. Despite what others had told her growing up, she'd made it. She'd broken through the glass ceiling. Before she could start up the front steps, however, she suddenly, and slightly painfully, found herself sitting on the ground, staring up at a pair of horrified brown eyes.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I swear, I didn't see you there!" The Cockney accent belonged to a bloke about her age, with wild (and really great) brown hair. Despite the early August heat, he wore a pinstriped suit, though she saw he wore trainers when she looked around for her things. Although she'd been irritated at first, Rose found she couldn't help but laugh. Something about the guy made his mistake endearing rather than annoying.

"It's alright! I wasn't looking either." She took the offered hand and pulled herself up. After grabbing her bag off the ground, she stuck out her hand. Feeling bold, she tried to sound flirtatious "I think you owe me your name, since I already fell for you." She cringed at the bad pun, but the guy turned slightly pink, which Rose immediately found cute.

"I'm so sorry about that! I'm James McCrimmon." He rubbed then back of his neck with his left hand, but stuck out his right when he said his name. Giggling, Rose took it, introducing herself. Her watch beeped and she looked down to see she was about to be late for orientation. She looked up to apologize and saw James smiling at her. He dropped her right hand only to grab her left and pull her up the steps.

"Run!"

They barely made it into orientation on time. They sat at the back of the room, trying to stifle laughter while getting glares from other people, both students and instructors. Eventually, it evolved into eye rolls at the obvious information ("Make sure your tuition is paid by the due date!") or excited looks at things they looked forward to ("Here's examples of some of the hundreds of student organizations we have on campus!"). Several hours later, they walked down the steps of the student center. They were about to part when James rubbed his neck again. Rose realized it must be a nervous tick.

"Hey, um, would you maybe want to go get some chips? I don't really know anyone here and I could really use a friend." Rose smiled and sent a quick text to her mum, letting her know she was having lunch with a friend. She looked back up at James.

"I'm free for the rest of the day. Let's go."

They spent the majority of the afternoon together. James turned bright pink (yet again) when he realized he'd left his wallet at home. Rose laughed at him as she paid, calling him a cheap date. He just replied that he'd have to take her out and treat her to make it up to her. She blushed this time as James's eyes widened and he stuttered to say he meant a friend date. The cashier simply smiled at them, and when they left he told his coworkers about the two people who obviously fancied each other.

From then on, they were inseparable. They were getting two completely different degrees (James aerospace engineering and Rose art history) but they studied together, and starting their second semester they took the same general education classes. Of course, they spent time with others, namely Rose's roommate Donna and James's roommate Jack, but most of the time it was just the two of them.

None of their friends were surprised when, after a very nervous James finally asked Rose out, they started dating at the end of their first year. Or that they stayed together the next two years.

After graduation, Rose got a job while James decided to continue on to get a master's degree, then a PhD the following year. They moved into a flat near campus, living off of James's work as a TA and Rose's job at the Hayward Gallery. But Rose didn't know that he was putting aside money for a very special purchase. On his day off he went into the jewelry store when Rose was at work and left with a small box burning a hole in his pocket.

Everyone knew it was coming, but that didn't stop the gasps and cheers of celebration when James proposed on their fifth anniversary. Their marriage was celebrated with all of their friends, as was the birth of their children. As the years passed, they occasionally would look back at their lives, grateful that neither of them bothered to check where they were going that day.