Curate, connect, and discover
I can never quite get over how much Nine tried to protect Rose. I don’t just mean keeping her out of physical danger, but also mentally and emotionally he tried to make her feel as safe and secure as possible by not letting on just how scary things truly were at times.
It hits me so hard every single time I see Nine’s demeanour change from “the delta wave is either not going to work or it’s going to wipe out the entirety of Earth along with it” to “Rose Tyler you’re a genius!” because in that moment he was clearly thinking about exactly how to break the news to Rose and he decided to lie and try to be as upbeat and enthusiastic as possible so she didn’t freak out and put herself in danger to help him. He put on a whole act, pretending that he had a plan and that all he needed was Rose to step into the TARDIS and wait for him, and he’s bouncing around and smiling the entire time.
And then he leaves the TARDIS, and the act drops immediately and it is one of THE most hard-hitting scenes in Doctor Who history, the way he just turns around and sends her home.
But also it’s when he regenerates and even though regenerating hurts because to him he still feels like he’s dying, he makes sure to crack jokes the entire time just so Rose feels comfortable and assured, and isn’t too scared by what’s happening in front of her.
Or it’s in Father’s Day when he knows the only way to save the planet is for Pete Tyler to die, but he tries desperately to find a different solution so Rose doesn’t have to go through seeing her dad die again, despite the fact that Nine and Rose had fallen out anyway because Rose had caused the entire mess in the first place.
Just... Nine protecting Rose from any emotional distress along with actual physical danger is exactly why their relationship is so so beautiful. Tenrose will always be my favourite pairing but I think ninerose is just as superior in its own way and I love it to death. Nine was so caring and compassionate towards her, even if he didn’t outwardly show it as much as Ten did. I would even go so far as to say that Nine was the most caring out of all the other Doctors. He was at his peak in emotional vulnerability, desperate not to be alone unlike post-Rose Ten, but hadn’t quite been worn down enough to switch off his feelings like Eleven. He just cared so much and GOD I miss Christopher Eccleston.