[Theta had kept his close, not allowing it to leave. It was resting now. A shame it hadn't been Rose that he had protected and regarded the world around as wanting to steal. The love of a Time Lord, even a half Time Lord and falsely made, could be a terrible thing.]
I'm on my way. Don't wander out with anyone! I'll be right there.
[And he's running through the streets, trying to find this place.]
[Bit of a shame, but then, maybe it was something that, much like the rest of their lives, was going to be something they had to work for? Would make sense, frustrating as it might be. Still, she sounds pleased enough to have him coming to fetch her.]
I'm not- Dean's practically sleepin' on the pool table-- Yes you are, you won't even go look for a bed, ya lazy wanker! --I'll wait up for you.
[Whoops, language. The place isn't tucked away or anything- quite out in the open, as a matter of fact. And Rose will be right where she said she'd be. With about two dozen empty shot glasses littering the counter top, should he actually bring himself in. The jukebox will still be playing, but something much softer- and Dean is quite verily passed out on the back sofa.
To be fair, they aren't all Rose's glasses, nor are they anything as potent as say, tequila.]
[Had he drawn closer, she may have been it. But would she have enjoyed it, being kept and held onto as if she were precious and too breakable by an alien creature? As if his whole life depended on her staying with him? Doubtful.]
I'm on my way! Directions aren't my best thing. You know this. And stop cursing! I'll tell Jackie.
[He's looking and found her, pausing at the door. The amount evidence of spent alcohol is amazing. Dean is ignored but Rose is not. A fingertip prods her shoulder.]
[Maybe doubtful in his mind. ...And maybe periodically. But in all honesty, she'd have secretly loved it. Maybe not so much the being thought breakable bit, but having such attention goaded on her? Oh, she'd have soaked in it. She tends to let people forget, that she'd only been with the Doctor(s) for perhaps an hour, before she'd been dumped here. She certainly wouldn't mind a bit more time with any of them, be they Metacrisis or not.
She'd been quite curious about him when he'd first come into the picture, anyway.]
Yeah, you'll rag on my mum-- she'd call him a w-- that, too! [She tried.]
[But oh, she looks flushed in the face, smells of grape and vodka and looks more than pleased to see him tapping at her shoulder. So much so that she's barely giving a moment to wave off the semi-conscious Winchester in the back.]
[Rose might think that, but she hadn't dealt with a snarling half Time Lord for the past week who wanted nothing more than to snuggle against her and threaten anyone else who came near. To be kept in a single room and watched jealously or stalked relentlessly. To have to sleep each night with a cool body curled about her. Each movement bringing an immediate awakening and that same jealousy in the guise of love possession.]
Your mother was evil and threatened me on a daily basis if I didn't make the wedding all you wanted. If you weren't a princess with all she ever desired.
[A small slip due to exhaustion.]
[He tries to help her up, dressed in his pyjamas with the leather coat.]
[It makes one wonder who had struck the innate chord of the half-Time Lord for the course of said curse. Rose might have been hard pressed to come to a decision on whether it was torture or just the opposite.
Then again, it may very well have pushed a roadblock between them when the curse let up. Lord knows how Theta might have reacted after 'waking up' from such a thing. Had the roles been, theoretically, reversed... Rose may have done just the same.]
I'll bet she would. [...Wait. Wedding?] Who says I'd want t'be a princess? [Now that's confusing. Who said anything about a wedding. Was this important? Was she supposed to get married? ... Was he?]
[Oh, right, yes. Getting home and back to bed. There went that train of thought.]
Mm, bed sounds lovely. Might make you carry me up the stairs. [She's grinning with all her teeth, eyes just a little bit hazy, but she's thoroughly ready to stand on her own and march towards the door. And out of it.]
[He loved that TARDIS blue teddy bear. It sat on his bed now. He guarded it like a dog with a bowl of food. So there. Better than a Rose or Doctor. It didn't complain or want Jammie Dodgers.]
[Theta thought nothing of his words right now. Rose was drunk and would probably not remember any of it tomorrow. Even if she did, he'd deny it. Eleven would stand with him on it. They had agreed it was best she not know.]
Rose, hang on here now.
[He's trying to keep up with her and offering apologies as they go.]
I am not carrying you up any stairs! Not unless I have to. What would your roommates think? Quiet down. There is no singing in the streets.
[This is one of those incidents he'd like to keep off the Doctor's radar, thanks very much.]
[By the time they're out the door and sauntering down the street, she's put more of weight onto the not!Doctor. Enough so that she can concentrate on making mocking faces of whatever he says to her, without losing her balance.]
Pfft. What roommates? River's a room over, an' she pretty much lives with th'Doctor. Bowtie Doctor. An' that's it! Big empty space next t'me. Everyone lives over with th'Doctor.
[A pause, as she glances over, thoroughly ignoring his warnings about singing; don't tempt her. She might.]
[It had to be a Tyler family skill to be that mocking and not fall flat on one's backside, Theta decided. He blamed Jackie's side of the family for this trait.]
Of course she lives with the Doctor.
[That little bit had been explained to him at least. With more mentions of handcuffs than he needed. Ever.]
With the Doctor? Of course I don't. I live over in Loki House. The Doctor lives over that way. I visit when I want.
[Whether or not the Doctor knew Theta visited was another matter altogether.]
Come on now. Watch your step. Keep your voice down. Let's not have all of Asgard peering out their windows at you reeling down the street like a worftanger. Come on. One step, two step.
I suppose you could say I am. I'm told I have a wonderful sense of humour.
[Theta doesn't think about it much. There was simply a duality about him that he accepted and had moved on from. He had the memories of the Doctor's life but he was himself.]
It's not a curse. It's a howling thing that likes to eat fermented snorzerts and go reeling around the jungle being noisy. Some of the natives consider it good luck. Not sure how a drunken overgrown cat lobster is good...
[He's trying to be quiet himself but he doesn't know the House. Let's hope nothing is laying out for him to trip on.]
[She's just grinning away, having a much easier time steering her drunken self and his helping-ness, through the hallways than he.]
You're a bit funny. [She's teasing.]
[And is also attempting, quite diligently, to imagine what the hell this creature is supposed to look like. The addition of 'overgrown cat lobster' seems to take her mind for a turn and she bursts into giggles. Perhaps a little bit loud of giggles, but a hand over her own mouth should suffice.]
I think you jus' made that up. [She'll steer him now. She's fairly close to the end, actually. And getting her key in the door is easier said than done- but accomplished.]
[He's as he always is or tries to be: calm and supportive. But it's wrong, so very wrong. There's too many memories this stirs up from the well he had dumped them into. This isn't want he wants or needs. After this, Theta is seriously considering having a few drinks himself.]
I did not! Ask the Doctor if you don't believe me. Bedroom is right or left? Or can you handle it from here.
[Part of him doesn't want to see or know her home here. It had been hard enough to pull apart their lives when she left him before.]
[It's all smiles and giggles at his antics- even if they aren't antics, until he mentions her room, queries if she needs help getting there, where it is. And her immediate response is to glue her feet to the ground.]
No. I don't wanna go to my room-- I don't- Not sleepin' in there. Can't sleep. I can- The couch, I'll sleep on the couch.
[Of which she's looking around for- to the left. And it's hardly big enough for two people to sit comfortably, let alone sleep on. However determined she seems.]
No, it's coming back- the curse feelings. This was s'posed to make it go away.
[No, it was supposed to make her sleep. But with Percival gone, and the curse still a few hours from wearing off, well. Those clawing, anxious feels are at their height, however muted by alcohol they are right now.]
[Theta is a little turned around by her reaction, but who is he to judge the motives of a drunk Rose? The woman he knew could get a little wild. It's the couch then that he steers them towards instead.]
It's all right, Rose. It'll be fine. The curse isn't you. Remember that. Don't let it make you do something you don't want to. Let's get you laid down and covered up.
[He has his teddy bear, but Rose? He has no idea who her security is, where safety lies for her. The Doctor? Someone else?]
[Definitely someone else. Dear Sir Percival, knight of King Arthur himself. Funny, that it had been him when she'd only spoken once or twice. ..She had sort of mouthed off to Thor recently, perhaps he was enjoying the bit of randomness thrown in? She didn't know.
All she did know, was that the Knight was not around. Who knows where- probably in bed and asleep, by now. He hadn't seemed to have been affected by the curse. And while she does seem a lot more willing to move to the couch, she doesn't seem that willing to let go of his arm. If anything, she'd rather him come and sit with her- than let him cover her up for a proper rest.]
S'not makin' me anything- It's just. [She feels squirmy, terrified and bubbling with anger that might grow to something more. Fear and loathing, just under the surface. And judging from the high-pitched whine in the back of her throat, it wasn't ebbing away.]
I can deal with curses fine. But this's different. I don't like this, Theta.
[There were times where her mind wanted to falter, to call him Doctor because he looked so much like the missing man. The one she'd been looking for. And yet the right name tumbled out of her in the end, a testament to her determination. He was Theta, not a 'cutout'.]
[In a few days, Theta would learn of the presence of Nine and shift events to put her with him. He was every bit like the Doctor in his willingness to manipulate people and events to be what he wanted.]
I've got you. It's all right.
[The couch reached, he tries to lower her onto it. Empathy is not one of his better gifts, only knowing what he is told or can plainly see. Distress is clear enough as he attempts to lay her down.]
No one does, Rose. It'll pass. All things do.
[It's best he doesn't know. Identifying himself beyond the Doctor is important to him. Unknowing, he reaches for the blanket. The idea is to tuck her in and wait until she's asleep to sneak out. The last thing anyone needs is someone in this House complaining about someone leaving Rose's room in the am.]
[She's easy enough to move around, lowering to the couch and taking a moment to tug her shoes off- they're just toe offs, anyway. But once she's there, with legs tucked up and fingers wringing against her knees-- she's got hawk eyes on her friend. Must keep a watch on him at all times, no leaving before she's out like a light.
Which, if she actually makes herself lay down, would happen soon enough.]
Is'sat what happens to us? It passed?
[She's half laying down now, and sort of reaching out for his hand. The nerves are vicious enough to make her fingers tremble, and while he might not be her safety person, he's still a good alternative.]
It feels like a bad dream. I hate bein' scared anymore..
[He's gentle with her limbs, moving them into place with care but sure to keep where he lays his hands somewhere that won't be too personal for her. While he could talk about where each mark or scar is, he doubts she'd appreciate it.]
[Her question causes a small hitch to his movements, nothing more.]
No. There was no 'us', Rose. I think you've had too much to drink.
[Drawing the blanket over her, he sits down at the head of the couch. His hand is hers to hold if she wants. Stay until she sleeps which he bets won't be long.]
I'm here, Rose Tyler. Go to sleep. Dream of your Doctor.
[Not long at all, actually. And his hand is most assuredly wrapped in hers, clung to for the moment it be. But she's gone quiet since his first reply, and should he look, he might just find a terribly heartbroken sort of look on her face. One she's refusing to openly share with how she's angled her face towards the couch cushions.
Too drunk. No 'us'. There hadn't been? Not even a little? Was everything she felt just really ... one-sided, for him? Dream of your Doctor, he says. When did she not dream of them? Of all his faces- especially since coming to Asgard. And it had never been a case of Theta not drifting into the mix. Much as he was his own person, he was still a part of the Doctor. A new part. A new part who was his own person. ... It made sense to her drunken mind.]
D'you leave? [A beat. No, wait, not now.] Back home.
[Theta is no more looking at her than she is at him. His eyes are fixed on the far wall, seeing a place much more distant. He saw her again, standing in the sunlight and speaking to him. She had been beautiful outside but it had been more than that.]
[The blanket is tucked around her shoulders, a pull to bring his mind back and to keep the barrier between them. His touch telepathy is too easy to use, a cruel thing in this situation.]
No. She left me. Now close your eyes, Rose Tyler. Go to sleep. It will all be better when you wake up. Shhh.
[And if he had his way, this would all seem like a dream to her when she woke up. Half-remembered and hazy.]
[Fitful as it may become, she is drifting off. Much as she wishes to stay awake and take the opportunity of having him here to talk to him about things ... She can't. She's exhausted from not sleeping more than a few hours the past few days, and staying awake is ... not looking all that possible.
Still, she clutches his hand, thumb moving once, twice, thrice, to stroke against his knuckles. Twice more and she stops, murmuring something unintelligible against her 'pillow'. It would be hazy, it would be half remembered. But she would remember it. That was the point. Even if she couldn't comprehend how she, this unknown version of herself, would leave him. Why? How could she do something like that?
But those are thoughts that she'll have to deal with later. At least this time, she's so heavily fallen asleep, that she won't have any worry for dreaming unsettling dreams.]
[He stays there for a time, fingers straying down to her hair to draw it through then let it fall. It's as much as he allows himself. She trusts him and is clearly drunk. One last pass and he draws back that straying hand.]
[A small touch to her forehead, and he tries to do whatever his weak telepathy will allow to soften and blur the memories of tonight. Or help the process. He can't ruin the life she's found here.]
[In the quiet of her room, he speaks three small words, ones that have defined him since he was brought into being.]
I love you.
[Easing himself out from under her by degrees, he laid her on a soft pillow. Maybe she would think she imagined him being there, another ghost from the past. A last tuck of the blanket, and Theta is slipping out as quietly as he could. Tomorrow. Well, tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, as Shakespeare said.]
[It's a cold and lonely walk home, remembering where the warmth of her laid against him.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
voice
Date: 2013-05-13 07:23 am (UTC)I'm on my way. Don't wander out with anyone! I'll be right there.
[And he's running through the streets, trying to find this place.]
voice
Date: 2013-05-13 07:27 am (UTC)I'm not- Dean's practically sleepin' on the pool table-- Yes you are, you won't even go look for a bed, ya lazy wanker! --I'll wait up for you.
[Whoops, language. The place isn't tucked away or anything- quite out in the open, as a matter of fact. And Rose will be right where she said she'd be. With about two dozen empty shot glasses littering the counter top, should he actually bring himself in. The jukebox will still be playing, but something much softer- and Dean is quite verily passed out on the back sofa.
To be fair, they aren't all Rose's glasses, nor are they anything as potent as say, tequila.]
voice
Date: 2013-05-13 07:34 am (UTC)I'm on my way! Directions aren't my best thing. You know this. And stop cursing! I'll tell Jackie.
[He's looking and found her, pausing at the door. The amount evidence of spent alcohol is amazing. Dean is ignored but Rose is not. A fingertip prods her shoulder.]
Ready to go?
voice->
Date: 2013-05-13 07:41 am (UTC)She'd been quite curious about him when he'd first come into the picture, anyway.]
Yeah, you'll rag on my mum-- she'd call him a w-- that, too! [She tried.]
[But oh, she looks flushed in the face, smells of grape and vodka and looks more than pleased to see him tapping at her shoulder. So much so that she's barely giving a moment to wave off the semi-conscious Winchester in the back.]
Yep.
action
Date: 2013-05-13 07:49 am (UTC)Your mother was evil and threatened me on a daily basis if I didn't make the wedding all you wanted. If you weren't a princess with all she ever desired.
[A small slip due to exhaustion.]
[He tries to help her up, dressed in his pyjamas with the leather coat.]
Time to go home, Rose. Let's get you to your bed.
action
Date: 2013-05-13 08:08 am (UTC)Then again, it may very well have pushed a roadblock between them when the curse let up. Lord knows how Theta might have reacted after 'waking up' from such a thing. Had the roles been, theoretically, reversed... Rose may have done just the same.]
I'll bet she would. [...Wait. Wedding?] Who says I'd want t'be a princess? [Now that's confusing. Who said anything about a wedding. Was this important? Was she supposed to get married? ... Was he?]
[Oh, right, yes. Getting home and back to bed. There went that train of thought.]
Mm, bed sounds lovely. Might make you carry me up the stairs. [She's grinning with all her teeth, eyes just a little bit hazy, but she's thoroughly ready to stand on her own and march towards the door. And out of it.]
action
Date: 2013-05-13 04:31 pm (UTC)[Theta thought nothing of his words right now. Rose was drunk and would probably not remember any of it tomorrow. Even if she did, he'd deny it. Eleven would stand with him on it. They had agreed it was best she not know.]
Rose, hang on here now.
[He's trying to keep up with her and offering apologies as they go.]
I am not carrying you up any stairs! Not unless I have to. What would your roommates think? Quiet down. There is no singing in the streets.
[This is one of those incidents he'd like to keep off the Doctor's radar, thanks very much.]
action
Date: 2013-05-13 11:01 pm (UTC)Pfft. What roommates? River's a room over, an' she pretty much lives with th'Doctor. Bowtie Doctor. An' that's it! Big empty space next t'me. Everyone lives over with th'Doctor.
[A pause, as she glances over, thoroughly ignoring his warnings about singing; don't tempt her. She might.]
Do you live with him, too?
action
Date: 2013-05-14 12:17 am (UTC)Of course she lives with the Doctor.
[That little bit had been explained to him at least. With more mentions of handcuffs than he needed. Ever.]
With the Doctor? Of course I don't. I live over in Loki House. The Doctor lives over that way. I visit when I want.
[Whether or not the Doctor knew Theta visited was another matter altogether.]
Come on now. Watch your step. Keep your voice down. Let's not have all of Asgard peering out their windows at you reeling down the street like a worftanger. Come on. One step, two step.
action
Date: 2013-05-14 01:55 am (UTC)[Her voice drops a few notches, decidedly deductingly and trying to be sneaky, eyes all squinted and peering at him. It does well enough.]
That's rude. Worftanger. Sounds like a curse word, ya numpty.
[But hey, she's walking fine. And her voice isn't really that loud. She's kind of stage whispering, at this point.]
action
Date: 2013-05-14 04:53 am (UTC)[Theta doesn't think about it much. There was simply a duality about him that he accepted and had moved on from. He had the memories of the Doctor's life but he was himself.]
It's not a curse. It's a howling thing that likes to eat fermented snorzerts and go reeling around the jungle being noisy. Some of the natives consider it good luck. Not sure how a drunken overgrown cat lobster is good...
[He's trying to be quiet himself but he doesn't know the House. Let's hope nothing is laying out for him to trip on.]
Which one is your room?
action
Date: 2013-05-14 05:17 am (UTC)You're a bit funny. [She's teasing.]
[And is also attempting, quite diligently, to imagine what the hell this creature is supposed to look like. The addition of 'overgrown cat lobster' seems to take her mind for a turn and she bursts into giggles. Perhaps a little bit loud of giggles, but a hand over her own mouth should suffice.]
I think you jus' made that up. [She'll steer him now. She's fairly close to the end, actually. And getting her key in the door is easier said than done- but accomplished.]
action
Date: 2013-05-14 06:00 am (UTC)[He's as he always is or tries to be: calm and supportive. But it's wrong, so very wrong. There's too many memories this stirs up from the well he had dumped them into. This isn't want he wants or needs. After this, Theta is seriously considering having a few drinks himself.]
I did not! Ask the Doctor if you don't believe me. Bedroom is right or left? Or can you handle it from here.
[Part of him doesn't want to see or know her home here. It had been hard enough to pull apart their lives when she left him before.]
action
Date: 2013-05-14 06:53 am (UTC)No. I don't wanna go to my room-- I don't- Not sleepin' in there. Can't sleep. I can- The couch, I'll sleep on the couch.
[Of which she's looking around for- to the left. And it's hardly big enough for two people to sit comfortably, let alone sleep on. However determined she seems.]
No, it's coming back- the curse feelings. This was s'posed to make it go away.
[No, it was supposed to make her sleep. But with Percival gone, and the curse still a few hours from wearing off, well. Those clawing, anxious feels are at their height, however muted by alcohol they are right now.]
action
Date: 2013-05-14 07:08 am (UTC)[Theta is a little turned around by her reaction, but who is he to judge the motives of a drunk Rose? The woman he knew could get a little wild. It's the couch then that he steers them towards instead.]
It's all right, Rose. It'll be fine. The curse isn't you. Remember that. Don't let it make you do something you don't want to. Let's get you laid down and covered up.
[He has his teddy bear, but Rose? He has no idea who her security is, where safety lies for her. The Doctor? Someone else?]
action
Date: 2013-05-14 07:18 am (UTC)All she did know, was that the Knight was not around. Who knows where- probably in bed and asleep, by now. He hadn't seemed to have been affected by the curse. And while she does seem a lot more willing to move to the couch, she doesn't seem that willing to let go of his arm. If anything, she'd rather him come and sit with her- than let him cover her up for a proper rest.]
S'not makin' me anything- It's just. [She feels squirmy, terrified and bubbling with anger that might grow to something more. Fear and loathing, just under the surface. And judging from the high-pitched whine in the back of her throat, it wasn't ebbing away.]
I can deal with curses fine. But this's different. I don't like this, Theta.
[There were times where her mind wanted to falter, to call him Doctor because he looked so much like the missing man. The one she'd been looking for. And yet the right name tumbled out of her in the end, a testament to her determination. He was Theta, not a 'cutout'.]
action
Date: 2013-05-14 07:36 am (UTC)I've got you. It's all right.
[The couch reached, he tries to lower her onto it. Empathy is not one of his better gifts, only knowing what he is told or can plainly see. Distress is clear enough as he attempts to lay her down.]
No one does, Rose. It'll pass. All things do.
[It's best he doesn't know. Identifying himself beyond the Doctor is important to him. Unknowing, he reaches for the blanket. The idea is to tuck her in and wait until she's asleep to sneak out. The last thing anyone needs is someone in this House complaining about someone leaving Rose's room in the am.]
action
Date: 2013-05-14 08:01 am (UTC)Which, if she actually makes herself lay down, would happen soon enough.]
Is'sat what happens to us? It passed?
[She's half laying down now, and sort of reaching out for his hand. The nerves are vicious enough to make her fingers tremble, and while he might not be her safety person, he's still a good alternative.]
It feels like a bad dream. I hate bein' scared anymore..
action
Date: 2013-05-15 03:39 am (UTC)[Her question causes a small hitch to his movements, nothing more.]
No. There was no 'us', Rose. I think you've had too much to drink.
[Drawing the blanket over her, he sits down at the head of the couch. His hand is hers to hold if she wants. Stay until she sleeps which he bets won't be long.]
I'm here, Rose Tyler. Go to sleep. Dream of your Doctor.
action
Date: 2013-05-15 04:39 am (UTC)Too drunk. No 'us'. There hadn't been? Not even a little? Was everything she felt just really ... one-sided, for him? Dream of your Doctor, he says. When did she not dream of them? Of all his faces- especially since coming to Asgard. And it had never been a case of Theta not drifting into the mix. Much as he was his own person, he was still a part of the Doctor. A new part. A new part who was his own person. ... It made sense to her drunken mind.]
D'you leave? [A beat. No, wait, not now.] Back home.
action
Date: 2013-05-15 04:54 am (UTC)[The blanket is tucked around her shoulders, a pull to bring his mind back and to keep the barrier between them. His touch telepathy is too easy to use, a cruel thing in this situation.]
No. She left me. Now close your eyes, Rose Tyler. Go to sleep. It will all be better when you wake up. Shhh.
[And if he had his way, this would all seem like a dream to her when she woke up. Half-remembered and hazy.]
action
Date: 2013-05-15 05:16 am (UTC)Still, she clutches his hand, thumb moving once, twice, thrice, to stroke against his knuckles. Twice more and she stops, murmuring something unintelligible against her 'pillow'. It would be hazy, it would be half remembered. But she would remember it. That was the point. Even if she couldn't comprehend how she, this unknown version of herself, would leave him. Why? How could she do something like that?
But those are thoughts that she'll have to deal with later. At least this time, she's so heavily fallen asleep, that she won't have any worry for dreaming unsettling dreams.]
action
Date: 2013-05-15 05:25 am (UTC)[A small touch to her forehead, and he tries to do whatever his weak telepathy will allow to soften and blur the memories of tonight. Or help the process. He can't ruin the life she's found here.]
[In the quiet of her room, he speaks three small words, ones that have defined him since he was brought into being.]
I love you.
[Easing himself out from under her by degrees, he laid her on a soft pillow. Maybe she would think she imagined him being there, another ghost from the past. A last tuck of the blanket, and Theta is slipping out as quietly as he could. Tomorrow. Well, tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, as Shakespeare said.]
[It's a cold and lonely walk home, remembering where the warmth of her laid against him.]