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rumpelsnorcackTitle: A Long Life (But One Worth Living)
Author/Artist:
rumpelsnorcack
Rating: PG-13
Characters & Pairings: Rory/Amy
Word Count: 1261 this chapter
Summary: The story of Rory's life, from meeting Amy to death.
Notes: .Many thanks to the wonderful
a_phoenixdragon and mollywheezy who have been extremely supportive through this whole process. I've been writing this on and off for a while. It's still not finished, but is getting there. Not sure how many chapters there will be, but each one is intended as a short one-shot in its own right so all can be read independently. However, they do all build together to give a picture of Rory's life, complicated timelines and all. It's all roughly chronological, but each piece doesn't necessarily exist in the same timeline as each other piece. So some are pre-reboot, some post, some exist in a universe which includes Mels, others don't.
Disclaimer: Sadly none of the characters are mine, I just enjoy hanging around in their sandbox.
Rory could see Amy in the distance, her flaming hair standing out against the brilliant green of the grass on the common. She was flirting with Jeff, and Rory felt a pang rip through his heart as he looked at her. She looked so happy, her face vibrant as she threw her head back and laughed at something Jeff said. She lowered her lashes and looked up at Jeff, her body swaying back and forth as she moved closer, obviously trying to get him to do something for her. Rory looked away, a weird ache surrounding his heart. She was never going to look at him like that and it was time to stop pretending that she would. Anyway, he had his future to focus on and there was no room for unrequited love.
He heard a slight cough behind him and spun around, desperately hoping whoever it was would not notice that he had been staring at Amy. He quickly squinted slightly to the left of where Amy was now snuggling up to Jeff, her hand in this.
‘Mels!’ he choked out. ‘I … um … was just admiring Mrs Turner’s roses.’ He gestured in the vague direction of the Turner cottage, which were indeed a riot of colourful rose bushes. ‘They’re looking great, aren’t they?’
She gave him an exasperated look then tossed her head in Amy’s direction. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. Just tell her you like her.’
‘I can’t!’ Rory could hear the strident tone in his voice and winced. He tried to cover his panic by examining his shoes. They had scuffed already, he noticed, frowning as the irrelevant thought fluttered through his mind. They’d been newly bought just last week.
‘Of course you can!’ Mels said, breaking his concentration. ‘It’s easy. I’ll even tell you what to say. Here, like this:’ She flipped her braids off her face and simpered up at him, her eyelashes fluttering in exaggerated loops. ‘Oh Amy, I dig you. So much. You and I should totally make babies together …’
Her saccharine sweet voice made Rory wince again and he could feel the heat rise in his cheeks at the idea of making babies with Amy but he shook his head firmly.
‘No. I mean, I can’t. I … I’ll be leaving soon. I can’t …’
‘What do you mean leaving?’ Mels asked, her tone genuinely shocked. ‘You love it here! You’re like small-village poster boy material. I keep expecting you to take root since you’re so into this place.’
‘Yeah what do you mean leaving?’ Amy’s voice chipped in. It was breathy and slightly high – Rory could hear the slight panic in her tone, though he suspected no-one else would notice it. She’d obviously left Jeff behind somewhere and come to see her friends. Rory turned quickly to meet her eyes, hoping like hell she hadn’t heard Mels pretending to be him.
‘I didn’t want you to find out like this, but …’ he took a deep breath then let it out slowly. ‘I’ve been accepted to nursing school. I’m going to university.’ He could feel a grin spreading over his face as he imparted his momentous news. Amy looked like she was trying hard to be happy. Her face flashed a raw pain, but then quickly smoothed out into a smile. It was very good and Rory was pretty sure only someone who knew her as well as he did would know there was anything amiss. He pulled her into a hug.
‘Amy … It’s only Gloucester. I’m not going far. I promise I’ll be here.’ He could feel her trembling under his arms, but she slapped his back playfully.
‘Like I care, stupid. You can do what you want.’ She pulled back far enough to look into his eyes again.
Her eyes were suspiciously bright as she gave his arm another playful slap
‘I’ll miss you, you know,’ he said, giving her another slight hug.
‘I know.’
Rory knew that was as close as she would get to saying, ‘I’ll miss you too.’ He grinned back, all his attention focussed on Amy.
‘Oh God, get a room you two! Seriously, this is just revolting!’
Blushing, Rory pulled away from Amy and grimaced. Mels didn’t get it, much as she liked to think she did. This was the one point where Amy ever showed her vulnerability – she had an extreme phobia of being abandoned. Ever since he’d first met her as the hard as nails girl with no parents and an aunt who barely took notice of her, she had been touchy about getting close to people. ‘They just leave me anyway,’ she’d said in defiant tones when they met. ‘You’ll bugger off one day. Everyone always does.’ Mels … for some reason Rory never understood, Amy had been different with Mels. She’d been included in their small circle almost as soon as she’d appeared in the village when they were nine. It was almost as if she’d always been there, always been part of the three of them. But it did mean that she didn’t know this part of Amy. In fact, Rory thought he was probably the only person in existence who did know it.
‘Don’t be such a dick, Mels.’ Amy said, her face a set mask as she glared at Mels.
‘Woah, alright. Don’t get all wound up, I was just joking.’
‘Yeah? You mean the way you were just joking the other day when you got chucked in detention for the fifteenth time this year?’
‘Oh, give it a rest. You’re no angel and this sanctimoniousness is just booooring.’
‘She’s right though, Mels. You can’t keep getting into trouble like this. This is your last year of school. How on earth are you going to get a job if you can’t keep your nose clean at school for five minutes?’
‘God, seriously. Just give it a rest. You’re not my dad, you know …’
‘I know, I … I just …’ Rory trailed off as Mels started sniggering. ‘What?’
‘Sorry. Nothing. It’s nothing. Look, can we give this a rest now? That was agggges ago and we have something to celebrate.’
She grabbed Amy’s arm and pushed Rory in front of her. ‘We’re going to go get some hot chips. Rory, you idiot – why didn’t you tell us before?’
‘I only just found out,’ Rory said. ‘I was just coming to say something.’
He caught Amy’s eye over Mels’ head. She looked as frustrated as he felt. Much as they loved Mels, and they admitted that love often in private, she was getting more and more out of control. It sometimes felt like she was goading them, trying to push them past the point where they would give up on her. He shrugged and she smiled at him, agreeing silently that they needed to try to pull Mels in a bit. He knew he wasn’t her father, but there were sure some days when it felt like he was. For all she was their age, she acted like a tiny child pushing her parents’ boundaries.
He pushed the door of the chip shop open, and stood back to let Mels and Amy squeeze past. Mels rolled her eyes at him then slinked over to the counter where her newest crush was working. She began flirting outrageously, making the poor girl blush. Amy followed, looking resigned. Trailing behind the girls to order his chips, Rory just hoped the next boundary push wouldn’t land Mels in prison the way she so often landed in the Headmaster’s Office.
Prologue
Chapter Seven
Author/Artist:
rumpelsnorcackRating: PG-13
Characters & Pairings: Rory/Amy
Word Count: 1261 this chapter
Summary: The story of Rory's life, from meeting Amy to death.
Notes: .Many thanks to the wonderful
mollywheezy who have been extremely supportive through this whole process. I've been writing this on and off for a while. It's still not finished, but is getting there. Not sure how many chapters there will be, but each one is intended as a short one-shot in its own right so all can be read independently. However, they do all build together to give a picture of Rory's life, complicated timelines and all. It's all roughly chronological, but each piece doesn't necessarily exist in the same timeline as each other piece. So some are pre-reboot, some post, some exist in a universe which includes Mels, others don't. Disclaimer: Sadly none of the characters are mine, I just enjoy hanging around in their sandbox.
Rory could see Amy in the distance, her flaming hair standing out against the brilliant green of the grass on the common. She was flirting with Jeff, and Rory felt a pang rip through his heart as he looked at her. She looked so happy, her face vibrant as she threw her head back and laughed at something Jeff said. She lowered her lashes and looked up at Jeff, her body swaying back and forth as she moved closer, obviously trying to get him to do something for her. Rory looked away, a weird ache surrounding his heart. She was never going to look at him like that and it was time to stop pretending that she would. Anyway, he had his future to focus on and there was no room for unrequited love.
He heard a slight cough behind him and spun around, desperately hoping whoever it was would not notice that he had been staring at Amy. He quickly squinted slightly to the left of where Amy was now snuggling up to Jeff, her hand in this.
‘Mels!’ he choked out. ‘I … um … was just admiring Mrs Turner’s roses.’ He gestured in the vague direction of the Turner cottage, which were indeed a riot of colourful rose bushes. ‘They’re looking great, aren’t they?’
She gave him an exasperated look then tossed her head in Amy’s direction. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. Just tell her you like her.’
‘I can’t!’ Rory could hear the strident tone in his voice and winced. He tried to cover his panic by examining his shoes. They had scuffed already, he noticed, frowning as the irrelevant thought fluttered through his mind. They’d been newly bought just last week.
‘Of course you can!’ Mels said, breaking his concentration. ‘It’s easy. I’ll even tell you what to say. Here, like this:’ She flipped her braids off her face and simpered up at him, her eyelashes fluttering in exaggerated loops. ‘Oh Amy, I dig you. So much. You and I should totally make babies together …’
Her saccharine sweet voice made Rory wince again and he could feel the heat rise in his cheeks at the idea of making babies with Amy but he shook his head firmly.
‘No. I mean, I can’t. I … I’ll be leaving soon. I can’t …’
‘What do you mean leaving?’ Mels asked, her tone genuinely shocked. ‘You love it here! You’re like small-village poster boy material. I keep expecting you to take root since you’re so into this place.’
‘Yeah what do you mean leaving?’ Amy’s voice chipped in. It was breathy and slightly high – Rory could hear the slight panic in her tone, though he suspected no-one else would notice it. She’d obviously left Jeff behind somewhere and come to see her friends. Rory turned quickly to meet her eyes, hoping like hell she hadn’t heard Mels pretending to be him.
‘I didn’t want you to find out like this, but …’ he took a deep breath then let it out slowly. ‘I’ve been accepted to nursing school. I’m going to university.’ He could feel a grin spreading over his face as he imparted his momentous news. Amy looked like she was trying hard to be happy. Her face flashed a raw pain, but then quickly smoothed out into a smile. It was very good and Rory was pretty sure only someone who knew her as well as he did would know there was anything amiss. He pulled her into a hug.
‘Amy … It’s only Gloucester. I’m not going far. I promise I’ll be here.’ He could feel her trembling under his arms, but she slapped his back playfully.
‘Like I care, stupid. You can do what you want.’ She pulled back far enough to look into his eyes again.
Her eyes were suspiciously bright as she gave his arm another playful slap
‘I’ll miss you, you know,’ he said, giving her another slight hug.
‘I know.’
Rory knew that was as close as she would get to saying, ‘I’ll miss you too.’ He grinned back, all his attention focussed on Amy.
‘Oh God, get a room you two! Seriously, this is just revolting!’
Blushing, Rory pulled away from Amy and grimaced. Mels didn’t get it, much as she liked to think she did. This was the one point where Amy ever showed her vulnerability – she had an extreme phobia of being abandoned. Ever since he’d first met her as the hard as nails girl with no parents and an aunt who barely took notice of her, she had been touchy about getting close to people. ‘They just leave me anyway,’ she’d said in defiant tones when they met. ‘You’ll bugger off one day. Everyone always does.’ Mels … for some reason Rory never understood, Amy had been different with Mels. She’d been included in their small circle almost as soon as she’d appeared in the village when they were nine. It was almost as if she’d always been there, always been part of the three of them. But it did mean that she didn’t know this part of Amy. In fact, Rory thought he was probably the only person in existence who did know it.
‘Don’t be such a dick, Mels.’ Amy said, her face a set mask as she glared at Mels.
‘Woah, alright. Don’t get all wound up, I was just joking.’
‘Yeah? You mean the way you were just joking the other day when you got chucked in detention for the fifteenth time this year?’
‘Oh, give it a rest. You’re no angel and this sanctimoniousness is just booooring.’
‘She’s right though, Mels. You can’t keep getting into trouble like this. This is your last year of school. How on earth are you going to get a job if you can’t keep your nose clean at school for five minutes?’
‘God, seriously. Just give it a rest. You’re not my dad, you know …’
‘I know, I … I just …’ Rory trailed off as Mels started sniggering. ‘What?’
‘Sorry. Nothing. It’s nothing. Look, can we give this a rest now? That was agggges ago and we have something to celebrate.’
She grabbed Amy’s arm and pushed Rory in front of her. ‘We’re going to go get some hot chips. Rory, you idiot – why didn’t you tell us before?’
‘I only just found out,’ Rory said. ‘I was just coming to say something.’
He caught Amy’s eye over Mels’ head. She looked as frustrated as he felt. Much as they loved Mels, and they admitted that love often in private, she was getting more and more out of control. It sometimes felt like she was goading them, trying to push them past the point where they would give up on her. He shrugged and she smiled at him, agreeing silently that they needed to try to pull Mels in a bit. He knew he wasn’t her father, but there were sure some days when it felt like he was. For all she was their age, she acted like a tiny child pushing her parents’ boundaries.
He pushed the door of the chip shop open, and stood back to let Mels and Amy squeeze past. Mels rolled her eyes at him then slinked over to the counter where her newest crush was working. She began flirting outrageously, making the poor girl blush. Amy followed, looking resigned. Trailing behind the girls to order his chips, Rory just hoped the next boundary push wouldn’t land Mels in prison the way she so often landed in the Headmaster’s Office.
Prologue
Chapter Seven