Rose Tyler / Ianto Jones / Unwinding

Rose sighed. Of all the places the Doctor could have dropped her off while he went to sort out some dilemma on a planet that wasn't human friendly – why here and now? She chucked another stone into the lake. Because wherever and whenever here was it was bloody boring, especially in the dark.

"Ach o'r gorau? Oes broblem Bonesig?"

"What? Who are you?" Rose demanded, facing the shadowy figure alarmed by the lack of TARDIS-related-translation.

"Oh, sorry. Are you an English speaker then?"

Rose raised her eyebrows, "Is that a problem?"

"No – not at all," the voice replied as the figure moved closer towards the land illuminated by the moonlight, "To be honest it probably makes more sense that you having Welsh as a first language nowadays. Only you never know with people around here, some can be really nationalistic, not many I know but…"

"Okay," Rose muttered, 'Welsh? Had the Doctor left her in Wales at night? Again? Really?', "What did you say again?"

"Oh, I was just asking if you were okay?" the voice replied, "It's kind of late and if you're skipping stones you aren't doing a good job of it."

"I'd like to see you do any better," she retorted as the person finally stepped into the light.

It was a boy. Human, or, she corrected, humanoid. Although seeing as she was in Wales she was probably right with human or possibly Slithereen but she wasn't sure that had happened yet on this timeline. He was younger that her too, by the looks of it, but quite tall – maybe around mid-teens. 21st century clothes, or possibly the nineties looking at the cut of his jeans, with grey vans and a black jacket. He was smiling faintly.

"It's not usual you get people around here at this time of night."

"I'm not exactly a usual sort of person," Rose replied, returning the smile.

"Seriously though," the boy raised his eyebrows, "Were you trying to skip that stone?"

"Not really," she grumbled.

The boy raised his eyebrows and stooped to pick up a flat, white pebble, joining her at the waters edge. He flicked it casually and it skipped seven times before sinking below the waters surface.

"That's just showing off."

"Not really."

There was a long pause before Rose sighed, "How do you skip them so well?"

"Practise," the boy shrugged.

"So you do this a lot?" Rose replied curiously.

"It's a place to think," the teen shrugged, "Which reminds me, what are you doing here?"

"Oh nothing much," Rose dismissed. The teen scowled and edged away from her.

"You're hanging around a lake in the middle of the night doing 'nothing much'? That sounds a bit dodgy to me."

"You're hanging around a lake in the middle of the night 'skipping stones' and 'thinking', excuse me if I think that you seem a little 'dodgy' yourself," she retorted.

"I'm a local," the boy replied, "Why shouldn't I be hanging around? You however don't even seem to know what your doing here."

"Yeah but I bet I'm older than you," Rose retorted childishly, "You look a bit young to be out by yourself at this time of night."

The boy frowned, "You don't look all that old to me."

Rose sighed, "I'm nineteen. And I'm waiting for somebody. We're doing this… sponsored walk charity thing but he lost his… watch so he went back to look for it, said he'd catch up. Only I forgot how slow he can be so I'm waiting here – probably all night."

"Friend or boyfriend?" the boy replied a note of curiosity.

"None of your business," Rose replied, "I'm not interested in you either way."

"Good," the boy retorted casually, "'Cause I'm not all that into you either. Just curious. You sound defensive."

"Sod off."

"No way, this is my regular spot."

"You come here often?"

"Yeah."

"That's kinda lame."

"Again - It's a good place to think."

"About what?"

"Anything, everything. Life and death and fate and hope and faith and the universe. Whatever comes to mind."

Rose glanced at him, he barely looked sixteen, "Isn't that a bit deep."

"I am a bit deep. So are you I bet. You talk like the type."

"The type?"

"Yeah, y'know: see the world, unravel mysteries, gain a sort of understanding. That type." The boy turned and walked away.

"Where are you going?"

"Home. Maybe you should too. All this thinking makes me want to unwind a little."

Rose smiled at the boy as he walked away. When the TARDIS came back that was exactly what she was going to do. Unwind.