wishiknewwho | Now We are Older: A Both-verse Ficlet

Title: Now We are Older
Author: wishiknewwho
Rating: G (I didn't say they'd all be smutty)
Characters: TenII / Rose
Dislcaimer: I don't own Doctor Who and it's probably just as well that I don't because it'd be nothing but hugs and hair ruffling for the foreseeable future.
Spoilers: It's probably best if you've seen Journey's End. It helps to have read Both and Mending, but I'm not going to force you. ;)
Summary: Every bit of it was worth it.
Author Notes: This is sweet. Like, it's so fluffy that all the other fluffy fics kicked it out of the fluff mansion because they were getting cavities. This will be the last story for a while...I've got stuff in the works, but it's moving slowly. Song is "I Adore You" by Melpo Mene. If you haven't heard it, I beg you to go and listen.

Beta-ed and Britpicked by

electrictoes ,

salimali , and

tardismate . They are three of the best people I know, and this wouldn't even be posted if they hadn't liked it.

Lost in a daydream of blue
And I feel so free
And then It's like I fall from the sky
Everything that I see is you
And you should know that I'm
Thinking about what you said
When you held my hand
Oh I adore you

She’s sweaty and exhausted and she doesn’t think she’s ever been happier in her life. As she looks down at the little one in her arms, she can’t help but think that every bit of it was worth it, if it brought him into their lives.

He’s a tiny little thing, a bit red and more than a little wrinkled, and not completely unlike some of the aliens she saw in her travels once upon a time. But he’s beautiful and she won’t stop to question whether she thinks that because he is hers or because it is true. She’s just going to believe them both.

He looks a lot like her, surprisingly. He’d been so sure that he’d look like him, but he was wrong. He’s got little wisps of blonde hair and eyes that are going to turn a rich golden brown in a few months. But he’s got his father’s mouth and nose and his skin is fair, and although still untouched by the sun, she knows that in a few years time he’ll be dotted with freckles.

He shifts in her arms, his head turning toward her, and she feels another rush of love consume her. These are their first moments alone together, the two of them, and while she’d worried for nine months straight about whether she would be any good at this, she knows in this moment that they are going to be just fine.

He opens his eyes and watches her for a moment, his gaze wide and curious, but one that ultimately results in I know you and I trust you before he lets his lids fall closed again. She raises her hand and brushes her fingers down the side of his face, marvelling at the softness of his skin. She’s never thought she’d feel such a fierce need to protect something.

The door clicks open and he’s there, the other he, and she realizes there are two men in her life again, two men that she loves, two men that hold her heart firmly in their fingers. Only this time she won’t have to choose, because this one, the new one, belongs to them both. They are caught in a little web of love and future and the three of them are entwined so tightly that nothing can ever tear them apart.

He gives her a grin, and though she can tell that he’s almost as exhausted as she is, there’s a giddy energy about him; he’s practically glowing with it. He comes over to the bed, smoothes the hair back from her face, and presses a kiss to her forehead before turning to the baby in her arms. Mimicking his actions, he runs a hand over the baby’s soft hair and kisses his forehead softly. His hair, standing on end even more than usual after the stress of the past several hours, tickles her cheeks and she laughs, crinkling her nose. She moves over slightly, making room for him on the bed, and he sits down so that he’s facing her.

“How are you feeling, love?” he whispers, not wanting to wake the baby.

“Sore,” she says, tearing her gaze away from the baby to meet his eyes. She’s seen him look happy, but this is something else entirely. The look on his face tells her that he’s never felt so right before, that he’s never quite thought he would have everything he ever wanted until just this moment. “Sore, but amazing.”

He grins and brings his lips to hers, giving her a quick but passionate kiss. “He’s ours, right?” he asks. “He really is ours.”

Steadying the baby in the bend of her arm, she reaches up her free hand to cup his cheek. “He’s all ours. A little bit of you, a little bit of me, and a little bit of something that’s all his own.”

He puts his hand over hers. “Thank you, Rose. He’s...” his voice tapers off as he gazes down at the baby, and for once, probably the first time in his life, he seems lost for words.

“Magnificent? Incredible?” she fills in for him, chuckling at his expression. “Brilliant?”

“Everything,” he whispers. “He’s everything.”

“I love him,” she says, her voice almost choking. “And I love you. Thank you.” They don’t often talk about what happened in the past, about a time when she almost caused them to lose everything. But she needs him to know how grateful she is that he wanted her enough to forgive her, how she loves him for what he has given her.

“Thank you, love.” He shifts so that he is sitting beside her. The little bed is cramped, but neither of them complains. The baby gives a contented yawn, as if he’s known all along that he belongs with them.

“You think he’ll have a bit of wanderlust?” she asks, adjusting so that she can lay her head on his shoulder. She is happy, but so, so exhausted.

“Oh, of course,” he says, smiling down at his son. “How can he not?” He settles his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his body and making her more comfortable.

“He’s going to want to travel the stars, you know.” Her eyes glint with mischief.

His eyes darken with determination. “Then we’ll find a way to take him.”

“You’re going to have to teach him to run.” She kisses his cheek and holds the baby close. “And how to talk his way out of dangerous situations.”

“Oi,” he says, his voice a little too loud. She shushes him with a finger to his lips. “It’s not always running and danger.”

“Of course not,” she says, her tone patronising, but the honesty hits her. More than anything else, it’s love. Their life is love. She removes her finger and replaces it with her mouth. They kiss for a long moment, their first proper kiss in the past day or so. For a while there, when the pain was almost too much to bear, she’d barely wanted to see him, let alone do anything that even suggested she ever wanted to get pregnant again, but now she can’t get enough of him. Their tongues touch and she loves him so much for being everything she wants, for giving her a son, for giving her a life that has become very precious to her.

He’s a little breathless when she pulls back. “What was that for?” he asks.

“I love you,” she says, not answering his question and answering it all at the same time. “And I can’t think of anything I want other than what I have right here with me. You and him.”

He smiles at her and opens his mouth to say something back, but just then, the baby stirs and their attention is focused solely on him.

“Hi there, love,” she coos, grinning down at her son.

The baby blinks his eyes and flexes his fingers. The Doctor reaches out a tentative hand and puts a finger in the baby’s palm. The ensuing grip is tight and he looks up at her in astonishment.

“He’s holding my finger, Rose,” he says.

“I see that. He loves you already.” She smiles down at her son and then at the man she loves.

“You think?” he asks, his voice soft.

“Of course,” she says. “You’re his dad.”

He kisses her again and this time there is nothing but sweetness in his lips against hers. When he pulls away, she bites her lip and he presses their foreheads together. “It’s the three of us from now on,” he says. “Los tres amigos, the three musketeers.”

“Yes.” She lifts the baby up and kisses the top of his head. “I can’t wait.”

“Neither can I,” he says. He looks down at the baby and rubs his thumb over the little fingers that grip his so tightly. “Run.”