strong enough [crossover]

xii. daddy issues strike again

content warnings: some (probably poorly-written) spice, brief depiction of self-harm, discussion of past abusive relationships, discussion of mj's sexual assault (toward the end of the chapter, most detailed part starts w/ "so we made a deal" and ends at "physically" if you want to skip), mention of suicide

*

MJ drops Annabeth off at her house with lots of hugs and a promise to do better about keeping in touch now that there are no more secrets between them. Annabeth gets a hug from Rose too, and a stack of books from the TARDIS library from the Doctor. MJ keeps an eye on Annabeth until she goes inside, and then the Doctor takes them to a safe part of space to float.

"Sorry again about my complete freakout," MJ says, fidgeting with her watch. "That was...really embarrassing."

"Nothing to be embarrassed about," Rose assures her with an easy-going smile. "You should've seen how much of a mess I was after everythin' with Jimmy. That was embarrassing."

"I'm sure your reaction was perfectly justified," MJ says. She forces herself to stand a little taller. "And you know what? So was mine. So...fuck embarrassment! Feel what you feel!"

"Fuck embarrassment!" the Doctor and Rose chorus, throwing their hands in the air like they're on a rollercoaster. The console room lights brighten for a moment as if the TARDIS is agreeing too.

MJ grins at them and jams her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. "You guys wanna watch a movie or something? Or maybe play a board game?"

The Doctor's face lights up. "I thought you'd never ask!"

*

"I wish you'd never asked," Rose grumbles to MJ.

They're sitting around a coffee table in a random sitting room that had appeared across from the kitchen. They're playing some alien board game the Doctor had pulled out of a closet MJ and Rose have never seen before. The game is kind of like what you'd get if Chutes & Ladders, Sorry, Settlers of Catan, and Clue had a fucked up orgy. It has at least fifty rules, each one more complicated than the last, and even MJ with her impeccable memory and dazzling intellect is struggling to keep everything straight. Neither Earth girl is having much fun.

The Doctor is having a blast.

MJ realizes it's her turn again. She rolls the three nine-sided dice.

"Three stars!" the Doctor crows cheerily. "Grab an opportunity card."

MJ picks up one of the purple cards with a symbol she doesn't recognize on the back and flips it over. The TARDIS translates the text into a dyslexia-friendly English font, so MJ has no trouble reading it aloud. "You fall through a wormhole and find the Crystal of Noovia. The Crystal grants you unlimited power and knowledge, with which you conquer the entire galaxy. You automatically win the game."

"Oh, thank God it's over," Rose groans, slumping against the bottom of the blue suede couch behind her. "Can we please toss this 'game' into a black hole or supernova or something?"

The Doctor's smile falls. "You didn't like it?"

"I didn't even know what was goin' on half the time," Rose complains. She flicks her player piece, a small silver animal that closely resembles a cow, and knocks it over. "There were way too many rules and way too many mechanics. The explanation alone broke my brain. Seriously, I think I have a migraine now."

The Doctor pouts and starts cleaning up, a pink tint to his cheeks. "If you were having such a bad time, you should've just said so. We could've played something else." He looks at MJ with wide, hopeful eyes. "Did you have fun?"