A/N: A few things I'd like to say:

- First of all, this is my very first fanfiction, so feedback is very much appreciated!

- I really wanted to explore the idea of trans masc!Rose, and how this would change the Doctor and Rose's dynamic. Also I wanted to see the Doctor being super supportive, as he would be

- There will be multiple chapters, I may extend this AU out into further series 3 & 4 rewrites, but we'll see.

- Finally a small disclaimer: I am a trans man myself, so I tried draw upon my own experiences to make Rose's feel authentic. Obviously, not every trans person's experience is the same.

Think that's all, hope you enjoy :)

Rose entered the console room and pushed herself up onto the jump seat with a light sigh. As per usual, the Doctor was lying on his back, head under the console, keeping his hands busy with repairs. As soon as he was aware of her presence, the Doctor began his typical non-stop babbling.

"Did I ever tell you about the time I met Isaac Newton? Proper genius, and I don't often say that. Mind you, did need to give him a bit of a poke in the right direction when it came to gravity – didn't go quite as far as climbing up into the apple tree he was sat under, and dropping said apples onto his head – but I did give him a hand with a couple of particularly tough calculations. Ooh! Have I ever told you about his rivalry with Leibniz…"

Rose continued to listen to the Doctor, but wasn't taking in anything he was saying, even forgoing hums of affirmation to indicate that she was paying attention at all. However, the Doctor eventually noticed this, and rolled out from underneath the console to look at her. Rose's face was slightly screwed up in thought, staring blankly at the time rotor.

"Penny for 'em?" asked the Doctor, who had positioned himself between the jump seat and the console, looking at Rose intently.

"Do you ever… I dunno, feel like your body just ain't right for some reason, like is that a normal thing…" Rose trailed off.

"Well yeah, obviously with regeneration it takes a bit of getting used to a new body, like I said before, new teeth are weird, and don't get me started on limbs-"

"No, no, not Time Lords, I mean for, you know, humans? Who don't just go around changing their faces every, I dunno, however often you do it…" Rose looked down, suddenly finding the stitching on the jump seat very fascinating. "And I don't mean wishing you had straight hair instead of curly, just this kinda feeling of insecurity deep down, which I don't think anyone else has. Not that I know, anyway…"

Sensing her distress, the Doctor moved to sit next to Rose, throwing his arm around the back of the jump seat.

"Rose… you know you can talk to me about anything, right…?" said the Doctor softly.

Rose seemed to tense further.

"Hey… look at me."

Rose glanced up and took a sharp intake of air. The Doctor's face was very close to hers, and at that distance, she could clearly make out every short hair that dotted his cheeks, jaw and neck. Feeling a sudden surge of emotions, notably sadness and – perhaps more confusingly – jealousy, she tore her gaze away from the Doctor, turning her head towards the door from which she had entered the console room through barely ten minutes ago.

"Yeah… sorry…" she murmured, standing abruptly then fleeing the console room into the depths of the TARDIS, leaving a confused and somewhat concerned Doctor alone on the jump seat.

Later that evening, Rose found herself in the library. She doubted the Doctor knew the answer to her question, seeing as he wasn't human and therefore probably didn't understand exactly how she was feeling. Then again, Rose didn't even know what question she was asking.

Taking that into consideration, Rose sat down at one of several computer stations which were scattered around the library. There was no point in reading books if she didn't know more about what she was looking for; an internet search would be much quicker.

Having typed several queries into the search engine, Rose couldn't find anything that related to what she thought she was looking for, until she clicked onto the second page of results for 'woman jealous of facial hair', when a word stuck out at her. 'Transgender'. Hesitantly, Rose clicked on the link, and began to read the article.

Suddenly, everything clicked into place. Everything she had been feeling for a couple of years now, but had kept buried, made sense. She was a transgender man. At least that explained her jealously over the Doctor's five o'clock shadow.

"Shit…" she exhaled, feeling a weight lifted.

"You alright?" called a familiar voice.

Shit. Rose quickly closed the web browser and spun around in her chair, turning to face the Doctor.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Rose said, perhaps a little too quickly, trying to control her slight panic. She was scared about what would happen now, and didn't want the Doctor to know anything, not yet at least.

The Doctor gave her a slight smile.

"Do you want me to… read to you, or something? It's just that you didn't seem okay earlier, and I thought maybe you'd like some company?" the Doctor asked bashfully, tugging on his ear.

Rose returned his smile.

"No, ta. Was just gonna go to bed."

"If you say so. Goodnight, Rose."

Over the next few weeks, the Doctor noticed something different about Rose. Several things, in fact. Most notably, her choice of clothing. She had swapped her fitted, bright, colourful hoodies and jeans for baggier ones in more subdued, darker tones. Something had shifted in her mood as well, from smiling and enthusiastic, to withdrawn and distracted. Naturally, the Doctor was worried. Rose was good at making him worried.

Sighing defeatedly, the Doctor asked the TARDIS about Rose's whereabouts. An image of the media room flashed in his mind. Thanking the TARDIS, he made his way down the maze of corridors.

Opening the door to the media room, the Doctor found Rose curled up on one corner of the sofa, hugging her knees to her chest. She was wearing an oversized black hoodie, a popular new addition to her wardrobe.

"Hello Rose."

Rose jumped at the sudden noise, and twisted around to look at him, eyes wide, looking like a deer caught in headlights. She looked down at her hands, picking at her cuticles.

"Hello," she mumbled.

The Doctor sat down next to Rose on the sofa, close enough to offer comfort if need be, but far enough away that she would still be comfortable regardless.

"Rose, I've-"

He noticed her flinch at the sound of her own name.

"You've been distant the past couple of weeks, and clearly something's bothering you. Of course, you don't have to tell me what's up, but I'll help you with anything I can. I won't judge you."

Rose took a deep breath.

"I'm… trans." She whispered the last word.

"Trans what?"

"Transgender." Again, another whisper.

Oh.

The Doctor immediately wrapped his arms around Rose, pulling her into a tight hug. Rose returned his embrace, burying her face into the crook of his neck. The Doctor felt Rose shudder, and a wetness on his neck, so he held her tighter and rubbed her back soothingly.

Once Rose's shaking had subsided, the Doctor broke the silence that had fallen in the media room.

"I'm so proud of you. I'm glad that you felt comfortable enough to tell me," the Doctor murmured in her ear.

Rose pulled herself away from him slightly, in order to look at him.

"You mean, you're not angry with me?" Rose whispered timidly.

"Of course not, why would I be angry with someone for embracing who they are. In fact, it amazes me! And Rose, I know in your time trans rights have a very long way to go, but I know injustice when I see it."

Again, the Doctor spotted Rose flinch when he said her name. He paused.

"Would… you like me to use a different name for you?" the Doctor asked evenly. Rose looked down at the floor.

"Can't say I've thought of anything yet," Rose mused.

"That's okay," the Doctor reassured her, rubbing Rose's arm. "Would you like me to use different pronouns for you, like he, or they, or anything you want really. Or we can stick with she, if you would prefer that?"

"I want… to use he, but it ain't right. Not while I still look, ya know…" Rose vaguely gestured at herself.

"How about something more neutral, like they?" suggested the Doctor, gently squeezing Rose's arm. Rose looked back up at him, offering a tongue-touched grin.

"Yeah?" asked the Doctor softly.

"Yeah," Rose affirmed, cuddling back into him.

They stayed there for the rest of the night, holding each other, as Rose fell asleep.

"How are you feeling this morning?" asked the Doctor as Rose entered the galley.

"A bit meh, actually," Rose confessed.

The Doctor placed Rose's breakfast of scrambled egg on toast in front of them and sat down at the table opposite Rose.

"In what sense, do you mean you're feeling dysphoric?"

Rose looked stunned. They hadn't been expecting that.

"I suppose so, yeah. Just realising what that weird insecurity was just kinda amplified it."

The Doctor nodded briefly in understanding. That explained the baggy clothing. He made his decision.

"Today, I'm gonna go on a quick shopping trip, 27th century Earth. Don't worry, you don't have to come with me if you don't feel like it," he reassured Rose, who was looking a bit lost.

Rose continued with their breakfast, enjoying the Doctor's aimless chatter. When they had finished eating, the Doctor pulled a couple of books from his bigger-on-the-inside pockets. Rose glanced at the covers, both were books of baby names, one from the mid-80s, and the other from 2007.

"Thought you might like some inspiration. Of course, you don't have to choose a new name now, or ever if you don't want to, but-"

Rose interrupted him before he could get carried away. "No, I really appreciate it. Thought I'd have a think about it today anyway."

The Doctor grinned at them.

"Brilliant, I'll leave you to it. See you in an hour or so, two tops. Bye!"

Precisely one hour, forty-two minutes and thirty-six seconds later, the Doctor re-entered the TARDIS, making a beeline for Rose's bedroom, where he suspected they would be.

Coming to the end of a corridor, the Doctor knocked on Rose's door.

"Come in," came the slightly muffled reply. The Doctor tentatively opened the door.

"You've redecorated. I like it."

Indeed, Rose had redecorated their room, or rather, the TARDIS had for them. The previous hot pinks and vibrant purples had been replaced by deep reds, with the occasional cream accent.

"Yeah, the TARDIS somehow sensed I wanted something a bit more, masculine, I suppose." Rose was sat on their bed with the baby name books open at their feet.

"Find anything that you like?" asked the Doctor, who had moved to perch on the edge of Rose's bed.

"What do you think of Ryan?"

"Well, it's your name not mine, but pick something that feels true to you, at least, that's what I did," the Doctor suggested.

"I like Ryan," said Rose, smiling.

"You want me to call you Ryan, then?" said the Doctor, returning their smile with one of pride.

"Yeah," replied Ryan, their smile stretched further into a grin.

"You got a middle name?"

"Peter," answered Ryan.

"Ryan Peter Tyler," said the Doctor slowly, as if he was testing how the words tasted on his tongue. "Flows beautifully."

"Yeah?" asked Ryan, their hand shifting to rest on the Doctor's, who flipped his over to intertwine his fingers with Ryan's.

"Yeah," mused the Doctor, giving Ryan's hand a brief squeeze. He pulled them into a hug. Ryan knew then, even with the uncertainty of their own future, that the Doctor would always be there for them.