Who: Rose Tyler and Flynn Rider When: Late January Where: Rose’s Place What: Crashing on the sofa Rating/Warning: Low/None Status: Complete
Flynn insisted upon doing something to pay back Rose for being so generous with her couch space. She already had copies of all of his books, so he couldn’t pass them along as thank-you gifts. So, he went out and bought some dinner. The best he could afford--marinara sauce, bread, pasta and a bag of salad. He brought it to her place and knocked on the front door.
“Rosie Posie? Hope it’s not BYOB night, since I didn’t get that memo!” He called through the door, leaning up against the frame.
Luckily Rose was in, just sitting in front of the TV. She was actually just thinking of what she was going to do for dinner when she heard Flynn call out. She grinned, shutting off the tube and making her way to the front door.
“You know, I should just get ya a key,” she said, unlocking the door and opening it. He was over enough and she wanted to make sure he had a place to go in case something happened. She grinned and nodded him in. “And I think I’ve got enough booze if you really felt like it. But what did you bring today?” She eyed his bag, curious.
Flynn grinned, still leaning up against the doorframe. He raised the bag. “I went all out. Steaks, lobster, caviar…” He said, swinging the bag gently from side to side. “Champagne…?” The grin again. The charming grin.
When Rose had first met Flynn, he had used that alluring grin on her and it had almost worked. What could she say? He was an attractive guy who knew how to use his charm. Still as their friendship had grown, she had learned to see past that and see there was more to him than just the dashing rogue he wanted everyone else to pay attention to.
“My, a lovely dinner date? Whatever will your adoring fans say when they hear?” She nodded him into the flat. “Hurry up inside, you’re letting all the warm air out.”
“They’ll hate you forever.” Flynn said, pulling himself up off the side of the doorframe to follow her into the house. “I mean, they’ll be green with jealousy and everything. Poor things.” He grinned as he wandered straight into the kitchen.
“Which is really too bad because I’m not a bad person!” She walked into the kitchen, flipping on the light. “At least you brought dinner tonight. Which is great because I’m starving!” Rose always enjoyed Flynn and his random visits. It was almost like a surprise party because she never knew when she would see him next. “What brings you around tonight? I haven’t seen you in awhile. Found someone else with a nicer couch?”
“Oh, I’m sure if they knew you, they’d love you like I do.” Flynn said, grinning. He started to unpack the things from the bag onto the counter. “...but they’ll still be jealous.” He said, and gave her a wink. “Nah. Sleeping in my car got old. I had a bump in sales, spent a couple nights at a motel. But that shit gets pricey, so… here I am.” He turned to her with a grin, holding up the pasta. “Boil water?”
Rose returned the grin, turning to grab a pot and fill it with water. “A motel huh? That’s pretty fancy!” She turned the water off, lugging the pot and setting it on the stove. “I just finished your book! I couldn’t put it down! A very...fanciful read. Everything a girl wants to get lost in.” It was still strange for her to read through his novels and know that he was author of it.
“Where do you even get your inspiration? When I first met you, I wouldn’t have thought you a romantic at heart.”
“I was living the high life,” Flynn admitted, breaking into a smirk. “Sleeping on a bed with clean sheets and everything.” He set the pasta down beside the stove so it’d be ready when the water boiled, then opened the bag of greens to toss the salad in a bowl. “Wow, you liked it? Really? Well… I must have a vivid imagination,” he went slightly red. “Maybe you’re my muse, Rosie.”
“Well I don’t have an extra bed, but definitely the clean sheets. I can make up the couch if you’d like?” She leaned against the counter, watching as he made up the salad. She glanced at him, raising an eyebrow, but a blush was starting to creep across her face. She quickly looked away, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
When Flynn usually joked around with her, Rose usually had a quick witty comment to shoot back. But this time felt a little different. It sounded almost like a compliment hidden by a jest. No, no that wasn’t right...this was Flynn! For as long as she could remember they always had this kind of relationship. Why would it change now?
“Want somethin’ stronger than water to drink?”
“Thought you’d never offer.” Flynn said, giving her a little grin. He’d spent enough time at her place that he knew his way around the kitchen, so he took that knowledge and ran with it. Grabbing butter, garlic, salt and pepper, he started to dress up the loaf of bread he’d brought. And he turned on the oven to toast it up.
“I’ll definitely take the couch. I wouldn’t dream of trying to invade on your sacred bed space. Unless you invited me in, that is.” He said, and gave her a wink over his shoulder.
Rose set about rummaging around, wondering what kind of drink she would make for herself and Flynn. She made sure to always have some kind of liquor on hand; one never knew when they might have to host at the last minute! Tonight she found she had rum on hand. “Rum and coke?” She held up the bottle of Sailor Jerry’s she had, glancing over her shoulder at Flynn.
She stuck her tongue out at his jest, standing up with the bottle still in hand. “Always the flirt,” she said, standing on her tiptoes to reach the glasses. “Don’t you have some adorin’ fan that you’re seein’?”
“Cuba Libre! Yes, please.” Flynn said, smearing butter, salt and garlic onto the bread. He gave her a grin over his shoulder, then went back to his work. “Ahahaha,” he laughed aloud, almost a villain’s laugh. “No no. No adoring fans that I’m seeing. Nothing like that.” Though, Rapunzel flashed across his mind for a moment and he wondered if he was starting to develop a crush.
“What about you, Rosie? Any blokes that you fancy?”
Rose walked over to the freezer, grabbing some ice cubes and putting them into a short glass for Flynn. “I’m sure you’ll find someone. You can sweep them off their feet and have a grand romance just like in your books.” She grinned, handing him his drink.
“How many times do I have to tell you, that’s not a good name? You know a nickname is suppose to make your name shorter? And you can’t get much shorter than Rose.” She took a sip of her drink...ah, perfect mixture of both. Maybe she should consider being a bartender. She pretended to keep drinking, thinking about it. Should she tell Flynn about John? It was such a long shot and it seemed so silly to have fallen for someone so soon. But Flynn was her best friend, he would understand...right?
“No, no one at the moment. Probably for the best.” She gave a small shrug. It was easier to say then to believe. Rose couldn’t remember the last time she was in a serious relationship. She usually just dated a guy every now and then, but nothing that was lasting. Maybe it was better that way. Again, easier to make herself believe.
Flynn accepted the drink and raised an eyebrow. Maybe he could sweep some poor, unsuspecting girl off of her feet. Then what? It’s not like he could take her anywhere. He sipped, set the glass down, and put the bread into the oven.
“Well, at least we’ve got each other.” Flynn added, lifting his drink again. He reached it over to clink the glass against hers. “To friendship. And not being tied down by other obligations.”
Rose grinned and tapped her glass against his. “To friendship and not being tied down!” She took a sip, finding it was the perfect mixture for her. While she did enjoy having a social drink every now and then, she was not a fan of the taste of alcohol herself. The sweeter it was, the better for her!
All the food was prepared or waiting to be cooked, so Rose pushed herself up to sit on one of the counters. “Are you having dreams yet?” She had seen him recently on the Valarnet and she was certain that that was connected to people having dreams. They had never talked about it before and she was curious if her friend had started to receive them and what they were about. The dreams really were like interesting soap operas.
It was a good drink for Flynn, too. It wasn’t too filling, could be very strong, and was pretty much universal. Who didn’t like a sweet, strong drink? He sipped after the toast, then set it back down on the counter, near where she was sitting.
“Nah. Not really convinced about all that Dream stuff. Wait, are you?” He asked, turning to look at her. They were fairly close in the kitchen. letting water boil and Garlic Bread bake.
“You haven’t had any dreams yet? How long have you been on the Valarnet?” The questions seemed to just shoot out in a more interrogating way than she had meant. She blushed, taking another sip of her drink. “Sorry, I just have a theory and have been curious to see if it happens to everyone.” The water began to boil on the stove and Rose went over to turn the heat down and pour in the pasta.
“I started having dreams, yeah. Only a few, but...yeah. I’m apart of the dream club now.”
Flynn raised an eyebrow at the interrogation. “No dreams yet. No. Nothing outside of the usual. Showing up to class in my underwear, being chased by a madman with a chainsaw, sex with the woman of my dreams…” He waggled his eyebrows at her, then gave a short laugh. “I’ve been on Valarnet for… a few weeks now?”
He moved to the oven to pull the garlic bread out. Then he opened the jar of marinara and poured some into a little bowl. He was planning on eating some of the bread while the pasta was cooking. “...what are your dreams about?”
Rose frowned, surprised to hear how long he’s been on the net with no dreams. She was certain of her theory, but that was probably the longest she had heard of someone going on without dreams. Was it possible that she was wrong?
“I suppose there’s always time for you to get them,” she said, turning to stir the pasta around. “It just seems like everyone who’s on there has the dreams or starts having them. There could be people who have lived in the OC all their life, but don’t start having the dreams until they’re there.” She frowned down in the cooking pot, thinking of her theory a little more.
Flynn’s voice triggered her to glance up, a look of surprise on her face. She had thought he might have seen her own posts, but she couldn’t actually recall if they had talked about it before. It seems she had been mistaken as he was asking her about it now.
“I travel the universe with the Doctor.” It was the truth and the simplest way to explain it. She was sure they would end up talking more about it, but it was hard to find the right way to start.
“Bizarre. It’s really weird.” Flynn agreed, watching her stir the pasta. And then his eyes lit up a little when she mentioned travelling with the Doctor--whoever that was. Maybe one of the Valarnet people? Anyway, he broke into a grin. “What sort of travels? You know, I’ve been thinking about branching into sci-fi.”
“Have you? A romantic sci-fi adventure?” Rose couldn’t help but smile over at him, tapping her spoon against the pot. “Can you grab the strainer? Should be under the cupboard with the cups in it.” She pulled a piece of pasta out, testing it. Perfect.
“It’ll be hard for you to believe,” she said, turning to look at him, her arms crossed. “The first real travel with the Doctor was the end of the world. The literal end of the world. There were all these aliens gathered around to witness it, as if it were some kind of show…” She shook her head, remembering what a funk it had put her in. “We went back to the 1800’s and in the latest one, we saved the world.” She shrugged, as if it wasn’t that big of a deal. She was becoming accustomed to these new exploits; it made her feel on top of the world and sometimes, it was literal.
“Oh yeah.” Flynn could take any story and make it into a romantic adventure. He grabbed the strainer and put it in the sink so she could drain the noodles into it. “...you know, space aliens need loving, too.” He grinned.
“The end of the world? You mean, like, fire and brimstone?” He asked, then raised his eyebrows. “Sounds like you’re having some amazing adventures. I wish I had that vivid of an imagination.”
Rose couldn’t help but laugh as well, grabbing the pot and dumping its contents into the strainer. “Yeah, I think you’re right,” she said, thinking to the Doctor. It may have been new, in the dreams as well, but she was beginning to feel the beginning of...well, something with the Doctor. And he seemed so lonely. Could it be that he had traveled the world trying to find some sort of company? Someone to travel with so he wasn’t by himself?
She shook her head, shaking the pasta to make sure most of the water was out. “Burnt up by the sun,” she said. “So pretty close. There was this strange piece of flesh that called herself the last human being on earth. She was terrible.” She shuddered thinking back to Cassandra. “I feel like there will be more to come. I’ve only just started dreaming.” She shot him a look when he said imagination.
“Hey, just because you haven’t started dreaming yet doesn’t mean it’s my imagination! Watch, once you start having dreams you’ll understand. And I’ll make sure to say I told you so.” She stuck out her tongue at him, dumping the pasta back into the pot.
“Ready for the sauce!”
Flynn came over with the jar of sauce, and dumped it into the pot so they could mix it with the pasta. Then he dished up some pasta, sauce, garlic bread and salad onto a couple of plates with skill and precision. A gentle chuckle escaped him. “...not about to start dreaming, Rosie. Not if I can help it.” He shuddered to think what his dreams might bring.
Rose opened her mouth to argue, but closed it quickly enough. She was sure everyone had reasons for not wanting to dream, she couldn’t help it if she felt differently. She had wanted to see what all the fuss was about and now that she had started dreaming, she felt on board and could relate to everyone else. She took her plate and grinned, moving to set it down on the table.
“Another refresh?” she asked, holding up her own glass. “And stop calling me Rosie.”
Flynn chuckled. “Yes. And all right.” He moved to join her at the table for dinner.