Work Text:
The world rocketed around Rose. This was the life she'd become used too in the last several years. Cheap, nasty time travel. But then, it was hardly as bad for her as anyone else. After all, she was familiar with the vortex of time, and she'd been in much worse places.
Strictly speaking the vortex manipulator strapped to her wrist wasn't actually necessary. With enough thought, and enough focus, Rose Tyler could disappear there and reappear here. Much like a TARDIS. Besides that, the old dimension canon had been reworked into a planet hopper. (Though, at the bottom of a frozen over ocean it was hardly of any use for well anything.)
The universe came back into focus. Rose's feet landed on new solid ground and that first breath of…
There was no oxygen. No atmosphere.
It was a damn good thing Rose could survive the impossible.
'Bugger' she thought to herself, arguing with the vortex manipulator strapped to her wrist. It offered nothing. Just a blinking screen that refused to respond. Not even her best 'Bad Wolf' glare got it to respond. But then, inanimate objects weren't the most receptive to glares.
Rose turned on the spot, taking in the sights. Not that there were many sights. Gray rock, littered with craters. Stars in the dark sky. Oh and of course the Earth.
Her flight had been just a little off. At least, according to the blinking screen of Rose's vortex manipulator, she'd got the date right. Though, bathing in the Earth-Light on the moon was rather nice.
There wasn't any sound. No usual telltale sign. But Rose saw it.
Just out of the corner of her eye, she saw it. Warping, fading, in-and-out. Dematerialising from who knew where only to materialise there, right in front of her.
Centuries of searching, and mis-inputted co-ordinates brought her to him. She could faintly feel the vibrations of the TARDIS landing. The grin that stretched itself across her face couldn't be helped.
Still, she didn't move. The TARDIS doors stayed closed, and the TARDIS offered no answer to the careful telepathic prodding Rose sent her way. She knew enough about Bad Wolf's side effects to know she could talk the to the TARDIS, she'd done so before a couple times to check if it was a TARDIS she was safe to enter. Not that it ever had been. But this time, no the TARDIS refused to communicate.
For a moment Rose just stood and stared.
Home. It had found her. Unless, of course, the Doctor in the TARDIS was one from before her time. Then, well. Then she just looked like the impossible basking in the impossible of the moon.
The TARDIS doors swung open. Someone stood in the door, seeming to shout but the sound couldn't travel beyond the TARDIS's protective bubble. He started gesturing Rose in, a very concerned looking woman appeared next to him, also gesturing Rose to the TARDIS.
The TARDIS herself told Rose it was safe. Speaking with the ship wasn't as simple as words, but the TARDIS was definitely beckoning her home. Home had found her.
Rose didn't need to think about it. She just moved forward, one fit in front of the other. Home, calling her back. After all that time. After everything she'd seen and done. Home. She'd searched for years to get back. Centuries. If she could she'd have lost count by now of just how long it had been.
She crossed over into the protective bubble. Her first breath of air on the moon, the first wave of sound.
"Rose," the man, the Doctor, called. Had been calling since he'd opened the TARDIS doors, at least. Possibly since he saw her on the scanner. He stretched his hand out to her, and Rose took it without thought.
They still fit together perfectly, as if they were meant to be. Like they were made for each other.
"Are you ok?" the woman asked. "Never mind that, how are you ok?"
"Brilliant question Rubes!" the Doctor declared. He pulled a device from his pocket, presumably the newest model of sonic screwdriver. Though it didn't look much like the sonics Rose had been familiar with, even the more peculiar ones her husband had made in Pete's world.
He scanned her over with the new sonic and stared down unblinking at whatever reading it gave out.
"I'm just fine Doctor," Rose reassured. "The moon is much kinder on the body than the void."
"Rose," he choked out. Because this Doctor didn't know her history yet, didn't know her story. He was entirely unfamiliar with just what Bad Wolf had done.
"I'm alright Doctor, Bad Wolf keeps me safe," she said, squeezing the Doctor's hand.
"I'll, leave you two to it then yeah?" the Doctor's companion said, nodding back inside.
"Oh, right yes. Where should we go then?" the Doctor asked also gesturing to the inside of the TARDIS.
"Take me to the stars Doctor," Rose requested. Because she could do a lot of things. She could even sit in the vacuum of space perfectly unharmed as she watched the stars, but she much preferred using her vortex manipulator to take her to planets. It had been far too long since she'd sat in the TARDIS doors and watched the universe simply exist.
"I'm Ruby by the way," his companion said as they stepped into the TARDIS.
"Rose," she said, offering her hand.
"Yeah, I got that from all his shouting," Ruby said, laughter colouring her voice. They both knew the Doctor had heard, but he said nothing. Instead he stayed focused on the console, taking them somewhere far away to stare at the stars.
"If you don't mind me asking," Ruby started, Rose nodded her on. "You're important to him, but we've never met." Her question was in the statement hidden enough that if Rose really wanted she could avoid it.
"I travelled with the Doctor a long, long time ago. But some things went wrong, and we've only just found each other again," Rose said. Nowhere near the whole story, but almost enough for Ruby to understand.
The TARDIS settled from it's shockingly smooth flight, and the Doctor breezed past to the doors.
"The stars, as you wished," he declared, swinging the doors open.
Space greeted them. Unending nothingness, stars glittering the dark sky. Nothing but light and dust belts as far as the eye could see. While Rose was enamoured with a sight she hadn't properly seen in far too long, Ruby slipped away.
The Doctor reached for Rose's hand again, stood together in the TARDIS doors with space their only witness. He raised her hand and bent his head down slightly though he kept eye contact. The Doctor pressed his lips to her knuckles.
"This could be a dream," he confessed. Rose reached out to his arm and pinched the Doctor hard. His eyebrows scrunched and he frowned at her. "That was rude, and it hurt."
"Pain means you're not dreaming Doctor," Rose told him.
"You're real," he whispered, moving his free hand to cup her face.
"I'm real," she promised.
"Rose Tyler," the Doctor started slowly. Rose grabbed onto his shirt and tugged him in. She was inpatient, she wasn't going to do the whole song and dance around each other again. The metacrisis Doctor had been her husband. This Doctor was still her Doctor. Rose Tyler would always love the Doctor.
She tugged him down until their lips met, kissing in front of the stars. The bright lights of the TARDIS interior dimmed as to give them some privacy, the stars watched over them.
"I love you," the Doctor said the moment they pulled apart. "Did that in all the wrong order."
"We always get there in the end," Rose said.
There was so much left to talk about. They'd both had such long lives since they'd last seen each other. There were all the lasting affects of Bad Wolf to go over. But that could wait, for just a little while longer, while they kissed in front of the stars.