paynesgrey_fics | Doctor Who, "Grace" Eighth Doctor/Grace Holloway, rated PG

Fandom: Doctor Who (1996 Movie and BFAs)
Title: Grace
Author: paynesgrey
Characters/Pairings: Eighth Doctor, Grace Holloway, Eight/Grace
Word Count: 625
Genre: Angst/Romance
Warnings: None. Some adult implications.

Notes: Written for the "Amnesty" challenge for the prompt "War and Peace" and the "time" prompt for the Summer Mini Challenge. This was an old fic of mine I never really finished so I decided to revisit it.

Summary: Eight runs away from his darkness to Grace, the one woman he can rely on for sanctuary.

Links: FFnet | AO3 | Teaspoon

Humans. They were his biggest weakness, he admitted. Of course, he valued all life; he always had, but there was something about that little marble planet and its curious inhabitants that always brought him back, stirred his hearts, and made him want to die for them.

The Doctor was relieved the Time War had not made its way to taint human society. If they only knew the destruction and bloodshed that was happening outside their narrow little solar system, maybe they’d be inclined to help. No, they were spared. They were protected.

His role in this war, however, had followed him like a ghost. He had tried to do what he could to help others, but he did not want to be involved. Unfortunately, his instincts told him otherwise, and he’d inevitably be drawn into the core of it all. He could feel it in his hearts and bones.

Before his fate caught up with him, the Doctor retreated to the one place that settled his worries and brought him peace. Next to him a soft, familiar presence was sleeping, her body lying on the side toward him. He watched her breathe, saw the activity under her eyelids as she dreamed.

Why had he always sought sanctuary with her? He had plenty of other companions that he could visit. They would also make him feel safe and less lonely. But with Grace, he found a different solace. She had been there for him a time of great fear and need. She had transformed him.

When he first felt her lips against his, it ignited fires in his brain, and he couldn’t ignore it. Sometimes he saw her as a gentle drug, like caffeine or sugar, unable to admit that he was addicted, and if he was, people would understand.

She stirred next to him, and soon he was looking into her bright eyes that glinted with moonlight from the open window.

“Hey,” she said sleepily. “Can’t sleep?”

He opened his mouth, but remained silent before soon settling on replying with a nod. She held out her hand and caressed his cheek. He closed his eyes and delighted in her touch.

He had told her some things about the Time War, but more importantly, he had told her why he was here. He needed her. He was running away and he needed warmth, love and tenderness while his thoughts were in a frenzy and his future bled with darkness on the horizon.

“I don’t… usually sleep,” he admitted finally, slicing through the tranquil silence of her bedroom.

“You don’t have to,” she says, shifting closer to him. Her hand fell to his bare chest, lazily tracing loving touches over the curves and dips of his skin. He shuddered under her touch. He met her smile and leaned close, feeling her warm breath against his lips. When they kissed, the fire of a star surged throughout his body, and suddenly the inky darkness looming over him began to recede.

“You can stay,” she whispered, and he warmed from such a tempting offer. He reached for her and pulled her against him, his hands rubbing the tops of her shoulders as she began to trail kisses down her neck.

“I know,” he said after a beat. But he knew he couldn’t. He wouldn’t tell her that. In this moment, in the safety of her bedroom, he would indulge in the fantasy, to stay in Grace’s bed until the war didn’t chase him, until it was all over.

He flipped her under him and met her lips again. With Grace’s touch, his fears cowered away, and he let himself fall into her spell.

For a little while, the Doctor would run and he would live in this temporary lie.