This is a Thirteenrose and Tenrose thing.
Rose Tyler was sitting in a cafe, drinking a coffee and working on papers for Torchwood. She took a breath and rubbed her face. In the back of her mind, she saw the ash falling from the sky that everyone else in London thought was snow. She remembered the Doctor taking her hand and asking her to come with him.
"Mind if I sit?" came a voice. Rose looked up to see a woman with blonde hair, a striped shirt, long coat, loose capris and boots. She was holding a cup of coffee.
Rose glanced around and saw the cafe was quite full. She hadn't noticed; she'd been there for hours.
"Yeah, sure," she muttered, moving her papers.
"Thanks!"
The woman was bouncy and energetic. She reminded Rose of the Doctor, and the thought only caused her pain. It had been two years since the Doctor left her on Bad Wolf Bay with his duplicate.
Rose hadn't talked to him since the Doctor left her. He lived in London and worked at Torchwood, too. Sometimes she'd see him and would catch him looking at her. He had asked her before he accepted a position in case it made her uncomfortable. She made him take it. They were both on the board and sometimes she would cut him off when he had a particularly long train of thought. She could summarize quickly when he could still be talking about the same subject for hours and never manage to get to the point. People thought that it was amazing.
"What are you working on?" the woman asked.
"Hmm? Oh, just paperwork."
"What do you do?" The woman seemed genuinely interested. Rose tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and cleared her through.
"I work for Torchwood, that big building across the street."
"That's amazing! What do you do there?"
Rose had an answer planned out in case anyone ever asked. "I'm the assistant to the main boss, Sarah Jane."
Of course, none of that was true. There was a Sarah Jane in this universe, but she didn't work at Torchwood.
"Oh, that's brilliant. Do you like it?"
"I guess," Rose shrugged as the Doctor came walking through the door. Since he'd come here, he had become completely addicted to caffeine.
Out of the corner of her eye, she watched him stop dead and look at her. She cleared her throat and glanced up at him. But he wasn't staring at her. He was staring at the woman sitting across from her. He looked so betrayed. Looking close to tears, he promptly turned around and left.
Rose watched him go. "Who are you?" she demanded. The woman turned to her, startled.
"What?"
"Who. Are. You." Rose wasn't in the mood to deal with any bullshit. The woman's face softened as she smiled.
"You're brilliant. Absolutely fantastic."
Had Rose been holding her coffee, she would have dropped it. She inhaled and felt herself pulling away from the Doctor. Her eyes stung as tears threatened to roll down her cheeks.
"Rose, please don't cry," the Doctor begged. "I'm sorry. Should I go?"
Rose shook her head, the tears falling down her face. She saw the Doctor reach out her hand to wipe away her tears but quickly put it down.
"Why are you here?" Rose asked shakily.
"Just taking a stroll down memory lane," the Doctor said nonchalantly.
"No," she heard herself saying. "You wanted to punish yourself."
"You do know me, Rose Tyler," the Doctor chuckled. "I didn't expect you to figure it out, but of course you did. I underestimated you."
"So you didn't forget me?" Rose blurted.
"What? No, of course not! How could I? You... you changed me. I couldn't forget you if I tried."
"So why did you come back now?" Rose was trying to be angry when she was just falling apart.
"Because I needed to see you. I couldn't stand it anymore." The Doctor looked heartbroken. Both hearts. Rose shook her head and tried to stop crying. "So you and me aren't married?"
"What?" Rose was confused for a moment before looking down at her ring finger. "Oh, no. I actually haven't talked to him since you left."
"What?! Why not?"
"Because he's not you!" Rose was getting a bit loud and the Doctor shushed her gently.
"He is me. And you two both work together?"
"Yeah, but I'm sure he's moved on," Rose tried to reason.
"Rose, it's been over one thousand years and I am still in love with you." The Doctor sounded so sure of herself that Rose let the Doctor take her hand across the table.
"Then why did you leave me?" Rose asked shakily.
"Because I loved you enough to give you a normal life because that's all I've ever wanted with you. I love you enough to let you be happy."
"You said you wouldn't leave me behind!" Rose hissed, still breaking.
"I couldn't take you!"
"Yes you could!" Rose hissed loudly. She knew it wasn't true. People were looking. The Doctor looked like she wanted to cry. "Did you even look back?" she growled. The Doctor looked down.
"No. I couldn't. Rose, I couldn't. You were kissing him. I couldn't. It was hard enough as it was."
Rose let her head fall. "Damn it," she sobbed.
"I'm sorry," the Doctor whispered. "I'm so sorry, Rose."
"Doctor." It was all Rose could say. "I miss you."
The Doctor made a choking noise. "I miss you, too. And so does the me here. He needs you."
"He's fine," Rose defended. The Doctor looked at her mournfully.
"You know he's not. And you know he's me. I was created for you. So was he. He can give you what you want, Rose. Rose Tyler, he loves you. And you love him, too."
"Of course I do," Rose said weakly. "I don't know what to do."
"Go to him."
"But then I won't be with you," she reasoned.
"I'll be okay. I have to be."
In a moment of panic, Rose blurted, "Help me carry my things?"
The Doctor blinked. "Of course."
"You can be my plus one," she giggled. The first real smile broke out on her Doctor's face. "Come on."
They left with Rose's things in tow. They crossed the buy street and the Doctor almost got hit by a car. Gigging hysterically, Rose swiped her card and they entered the building together. The pair of blondes entered the elevator and Rose promised that they weren't crazy like the ones on New x15 York's. Rose asked about new planets the Doctor had visited and she told Rose about Barcelona.
They walked to Rose's office, laughing happily about old times. They set Rose's papers down on her slightly cluttered desk. The Doctor cleared her throat.
"The TARDIS is probably not happy. I should go." Rose's stomach dropped. "Maybe I'll come visit," the Doctor suggested meekly as Rose approached her.
"You'd better," Rose said shakily before grabbing the lapels of her coat and kissing her. The Doctor held Rose tightly like she would disappear at any moment.
"Hey, Ro- OH MY GOD."
It was Sidney, Rose's assistant. Rose and the Doctor broke away from each other quickly.
"I'm so sorry," he apologized. "No judgement, I'm gay as hell, it just took my by surprise. I thought you and the Doctor—"
"This is the Doctor, Sid," Rose said tersely. "The real, original Doctor."
"Oh." Sidney bent his knees. "Well, I'm sorry it interrupt, Rose, please sign these papers, and I will see you later."
He got out of the room as quickly as possible. The two women looked at each other before bursting into laughter.
"But really," The Doctor said, controlling herself, "I need to go."
"Okay," Rose said softly. "I love you."
The Doctor pressed a firm, sure kiss to Rose's lips. "I love you."
They held each other for a moment more before the Doctor actually had to go. After one more hug, a kiss, and a promise of dinner, Rose watched the Doctor leave her again. She had just sat down in her seat when the Doctor poked her head in again.
"He loves you," she said earnestly. "And he'll wait. I love you, Rose Tyler."
And then she was gone again, leaving Rose with a growing feeling of anxiety. The Doctor could be able to calm her down. The Doctor. She wanted her Doctor. She wanted him so badly.
Okay, she thought to herself, on the count of three, we get up and see him.
One... two... three.
It was weeks before she actually worked up the courage to talk to him. She saw him everywhere, constantly talking to people and flirting with girls. But of course, Rose knew that he didn't mean to. He didn't even realize, not even when the girl he was flirting with got close.
It was a morning like many others, but when Rose came into work and checked in, she saw the Doctor leaning near the elevators, talking to a short, curvy, incredibly pretty girl. A girl who was getting close to him. Rose felt her cheeks heat up and she walked with a purpose and hit the elevator button. She heard the Doctor's voice falter for just a moment before he cleared his throat and continued on.
The elevator arrived and Rose stepped in, wondering if she flirted with someone if he could come swooping in. But then it dawned on her that he never would. He was waiting for her. And it also occurred to her that he was probably jealous of the ground she walked on, the air she breathed, the people she talked to. The thought... kind of turned her on.
The elevator doors opened to her floor and she slammed her office door behind her. Sidney's office was right next to her's, but she didn't feel like getting up, so she called him.
"Morning Rose," he yawned.
"Morning, Sid. Could you hold all my calls, please?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Thanks."
"No problem."
Rose hung up and buried her face in her hands. The longing to be near him was stronger than ever. She missed him.
She looked at the time on her computer. If he was downstairs talking to that girl, he probably wouldn't be up to his office for at least another half hour, so Rose made herself busy. Doing paperwork, designing ships and portals, and she had Sidney unblock her calls. She actually got so caught up that by the time she looked at her computer again, it was 10:30. She accidentally waited two hours.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she basically powerwalked down the hallway, running into a couple people. She hit the button for the elevator, tapping her foot impatiently. The Doctor's office was two floors above her own. She was actually a higher rank than him, thank you very much.
The doors finally opened and she got it, thinking about how horrible it would be if the elevators stopped working. Lo and behold...
Everything was fine.
As she stepped out of the elevator, she realized that she didn't have a plan of what she was going to say.
The Doctor's office was at the very end of the hallway and she could see him at his desk, probably working on seven different things at once.
It took so much effort to get her legs to move. Each step was like weightlifting. Eventually though, she made it to his door. It was closed but made of glass, just like the walls. She could see him muttering to himself, wearing his pinstriped suit with his perfect hair. His computer screen was reflected in his glasses so she couldn't see his eyes too well.
She thought about knocking. As she was thinking about knocking, she opened the door. The Doctor glanced up from what he was doing and made direct eye contact.
Rose knew him too well. In the second that they looked at each other, she saw happiness, hope, pain, and sadness all in one glance. He stood up abruptly and walked around from behind his desk so he was in front of it but a good distance away.
"Um. Hello, Rose." He ran his fingers through his hair. "What brings you here?"
His voice. He looked so nervous and Rose started crying. He saw it before it happened and stepped toward her but knew his boundaries. He stepped right back to where he was.
Rose flung her arms around him and sobbed into his chest. His response was immediate. He held her tightly but gently, cradling her head against him.
"I'm sorry," she cried.
"It's okay," he whispered soothingly. He was crying too, she could hear it in his voice and feel it in the way he was breathing. She pulled away every so slightly and he let go of her right away, afraid he did something wrong. Rose looked up at his face that was wet with tears that didn't show any signs of stopping. His eyes were wide with fear.
But she took his face in her hands and kissed him. The surprised noise he made in the back of his throat just made Rose want to kiss him more. She never wanted to stop kissing him.
He pulled away and closed the blinds and locked the doors. She knew he was holding back with everything he had, and the look in his eyes proved it. He ripped off his glasses and threw them somewhere as he kissed her again, harder and more confident. Things got a little out of hand for the workplace. It was only when the Doctor was over her on the couch against the covered glass window that he pulled away and rested his head against her, trying to catch his breath.
"Not here," he finally managed to get out. Rose propped herself up against the armrest and pulled him down onto her, which he gladly accepted. He wrapped arms around her waist and held her tightly as Rose played with his hair.
"Dinner tonight?" he suggested.
"How about lunch, too?" Rose added. She felt him smile.
"Sounds fantastic."