"Steak and chips? I take you to the Restaurant At The End Of The Universe and you order steak and chips?"

Rose stuck out her tongue at him, and the Doctor raised his eyebrows.

"Have you even looked through the rest of the menu? No?" he sighed and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. Jack scanned down the visi-screen, and stopped at the 21st century options.

"Risotto? Translation please, Rose? "

"Rice kinda thing. Had peas in when my mum made it."

"Right."

Rose flicked a sidelong look towards the Doctor, who was scrutinising his interactive menu with a frown. She slipped her foot out of her shoe and debated on whether or not to tease him. Might be a perfect opportunity when he couldn't run off or make an excuse for once.
He suddenly looked straight up at her, blue eyes sparkling as if he knew exactly what she was planning. She glared and he unconcernedly returned to the menu.

"Nothing wrong with steak and chips…" he ignored her, and she glanced at the waiter resignedly. All of the staff seemed nervous around them, respectful, despite the fact that they'd parked the Tardis in the middle of the kitchens.

"What is this place, Doctor?"

Jack laughed.

"You should know Rose. It was designed in your time."

"What the hell?" She looked round at the light display. Milliways was a restaurant with a background that looked like space was on fire, suns expanding, comets melting, all in perfect time with the lilting music.

The Doctor chimed in. "Lovely bloke called Douglas Adams, ever read Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy?"

"No. Should I have?"

"Definitely. It hilarious, it's been a universal joke for centuries. Half the aliens visiting earth at that time just stopped by to pick up an authentic copy," Jack gestured around him, "Gave a lot of people hope. The universe isn't quite as insane as Douglas makes it out to be. This place was built about ten years after it got published."

"Who by?"

"Nobody knows. Someone with an endearing love of humans no doubt. "

The Doctor grinned, smugly, and Jack looked at him in awe.

"No way…"

He clicked his fingers and a green waiter came running.

"May I take your order Sir?"

"Yeah we'll have….', he glanced at Rose and Jack "…two bottles of red house wine, and one of sweet white, a Risotto aaaand….. "

He turned to beam at Rose.

"Two steak and chips."

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

He was sitting at the table, nursing a beer, and watching Rose and Jack dance.

The Doctor was brooding, Rose decided. He was good at glowering. Excellent at grinning. But not so good at brooding.

It just wasn't in his nature to dwell on things for too long. Except the war, of course, but he didn't really have a choice in that. She snuggled into Jack happily, as Glen Miller rang out across the dance floor.

"He's so jealous," Jack whispered seductively in her ear.

"I know, " she giggled delightedly, "Never seen him like that before. Not so badly."

"Got a few in him I think."

They danced for a few minutes in silence, both enjoying being the centre of the Doctor's attention, moving in slow circles so they had equal opportunities to check on him. Jack watched as he traced something on the table with a wet finger, still staring over at them.

"Is he still holding back, by the way?" he asked, twirling her out and then drawing her back in again. Jack had caught Rose three months previously in a rather comprising position in the shower, and although she'd been embarrassed, he'd been more interested in the reasons behind it. Since then Jack had been checking up on them every couple of weeks, just itching to step in and say something to the Doctor, but respecting Rose's vigilance.
She sighed, loudly, and Jack chuckled.

"It's driving me insane! He's being such a …."

"Prude?"

"Not the word I was gonna use, but it'll do I suppose." They slowed back, stepping in time together. Jack shot a smile over his shoulder and the Doctor jumped, and waved, a little sarcastically.

"Just keep at it, Rose. He'll have to talk eventually. Any new ideas why he's so chaste?"

She frowned. "Dunno. He still thinks he's taking advantage, so it's always me making moves on him. And from what he's said it must have been a couple of centuries since he last did this kind of thing."

"What? Two hundred years without sex? Has he seen himself?" Jack shook his head in horrified awe, and Rose giggled. He spun her again. "You're gonna unleash a monster one of these days."

She looked thoughtfully up at him. "I don't know. He's kind of….respectful-" Jack raised his eyes to the heavens. Literally. "…but he can kiss. God, the man can kiss."

"Just ask him where you are. He can't just go on ignoring that he's making out with you."

Rose shook her head regretfully. "Sorry Jack. Gotta go."

"But it's not the end of the dance yet!"

She broke away and patted him on the shoulder. "I know. It's just he's been pushing those salt and pepper pots around the table for the last five minutes. Duty calls. "

She drifted off to her Doctor again, who kissed her on the cheek and sent a smug smirk in Jack's direction.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Jack crept into the control room, and plastered himself against the wall, hoping against hope that he wouldn't be noticed. His friends looked quite busy to him.
A huge grin lit up his face, as he watched the Doctor press Rose gently into the door and hold her there firmly with leather-clad arms.
Just as he was wishing he had his cloaking device from his ship on board, he stumbled and fell softly backwards into a cupboard behind the panelling. He pulled the door to, too thankful to be surprised.

He patted the wall, imitating a high-five. "Thanks."

Then he re-tuned into the show. Observing purely to help Rose later, of course.

He had quite a good sideways view through one of the hexagonal vents, and he watched as Rose bucked into the Doctor.
Although she moaned, it was obvious to him that she was frustrated. The Doctor was resisting all her efforts to speed up the kiss, and keeping her almost stationary against the wall, as Jack watched appreciatively. Lucky girl. He knew kissing, and he could see the Doctor was very good at it.

Like a lot of things about the Doctor, his kiss was intense, powerful and beautiful, but conversely and completely unlike him, there was no passion there. He had himself carefully reeled in, and Rose looked to be going insane, aching for him to just let go.
She tried to guide his hands down to her backside, but he lifted them off, setting them on the wall either side of her shoulders. She huffed, but soon got caught in the kiss again, grabbing for his hips, but he caught her hands and held them together. The tension was palpable, and Rose was getting severely pissed off-

"Alright then, stop!" She broke free and stumbled over to the control panel, panting.

"What?" The Doctor's forehead was wrinkled in confusion, shock, and what was that? Guilt?

"What? What? You keep bloody pushing me away is what! Am I so repulsive that you can't bear to-"

He made a disbelieving noise, but Rose's eyes flashed dangerously and he fell silent, arms outstretched as if to fend off blows. She put her hands on her hips and stood glaring at him, hair down, and tumbling over a low cut top. Definitely one of Rose's moves on him then.

"I just can't do this anymore," she said throwing her arms up in the air. The Doctor's mouth set hard in horror. "It's been months."

He crossed his arms and tried to glare, but Jack winced as he saw the vulnerability.

"Getting bored, are we?"

Rose must have seen it too, because in an instant she strode over and took his hand, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"No, I'm definitely not getting bored, you daft sod. Its just that you pull away, every time I try to take it further, every time I want just a little bit more-"

"Oh."

Jack could've sworn the Doctor was blushing.

"It's complicated," he muttered.

"I'm sure."

He blew out a long breath, and hesitantly kissed her on the top of her head.

"I haven't done this for about ten times your existence," he said, squeezing her hand in his.

"And?"

"And I'm a time lord!"

"And I'm just an ape?"

She untwined her fingers grumpily and pulled away, but he gathered her back into his arms.

"Don't be stupid. It's just…I'm not used to being…it's odd. "

"You're such a bloke!"

She pulled away harder this time and he stood watching her miserably, arms crossed. To the casual observer he would have looked serene, focused, without a trace of emotion, but Rose's eyes misted in pain.

"What if i….you know..fail to meet expectations?"

She didn't laugh as Jack had expected her to, but reached for his hand.

"Not much you could do wrong. And don't tell me it's just that. You know how good you are at…touching me," she said colouring a little, "There's more to it. I know you."

"Do you?" He dropped her hand and stared at her. Jack gulped. He really wouldn't have liked to be on the wrong side of those eyes, and was desperately hoping that he wouldn't be discovered.
Rose seemed unperturbed, and held his gaze steadily.

"Yes."

There was a pause.

"Not all of me."

Rose nodded, and bit her lip.

"Who says you know all of me? And besides, isn't that what this is about? Us getting to know each other, trusting each other?"

He didn't answer, but a muscle was working in his cheek.

"Isn't it?"

He didn't answer and aggravated, her tone slowly rose.

"What, you're afraid that once I see past that cheeky Northern exterior, I'm gonna just up and leave? That it's too dark for me? Because I've seen your logic, I've seen your morality, I've seen you go for the people rather than the person and just because I don't always agree-"

The Doctor glared at her, visibly angry. Rose threw caution the winds and changed tact, shouting.

"You know what, it's probably not even that, is it? You don't trust me enough not to just run off with Jack or Mickey- "

"That's enough!"

The Doctor slammed his hands down onto the control panel. Rose stopped, shocked, but almost instantly he dropped his face in shame.

"I'm sorry. There's your answer, Rose. You make me lose control. I make…stupid decisions, and I…"

She blinked, and stumbled, and Jack caught his breath, suddenly very uncomfortable with watching this conversation. The Doctor was revealing something intimate, something causing him pain, and he could've sworn he felt the Tardis walls tighten and relax, like a ripple was expanding through the ship.

"I muck up, Rose."

The Doctor eased himself into the leather chair next to the console, and put his head in his hands.

"I'm not like this. I don't get het up over people. I shouldn't spend half my day thinking up cheap digs at Jack, and if it's like this now, how bloody demanding am I going to get if we start…"

"Sleeping together?" Rose didn't look happy, but the Doctor raised his head and nodded. Hungrily. Jack gulped again.

"You think you'll get too possessive?"

"I know I will." It was weird seeing the Doctor embarrassed. He'd argue a point to death to keep his dignity. Jack, far from being pleased that the Doctor was threatened by him, in honesty felt guilty that he was driving them apart.
His breath constricted as he saw Rose's eyes had filled with tears.

"You know what I think?" She crossed her arms and refused to meet the Doctor's eye.

There was a pause, and then he asked slowly, awfully.

"What?"

"I think…" She ran a hand through her hair, and swallowed.

"I think you don't know what you want. And I think that until you work that out…we should just leave it."

The silence spiralled between them. It was almost palpable.

Eventually he answered.

"So…what are we for the moment?"

She sniffed.

"Companions?"

He gave a half-hearted attempt at a smile, and Rose angrily brushed her hand over her eyes.

"Looks like."

"Right."

Another pause.

"Night then, Doctor."

She turned, half running out of the room, and the Doctor stood and waited until her footfalls faded.

"Night Rose."

He too turned and walked out.

Jack tumbled out of the cupboard, and on to the floor, hardly daring to breathe. When he pulled himself upright, he checked the console, and touched it softly.

"How the hell are they going to patch this one up, then?"

But the Tardis didn't answer.