Rose pushed her sunglasses up on her nose and tilted her head back, basking in the sun. She could hear the sound of the waves swooshing up onto the beach twenty feet away, and some of the tension lingering in her shoulders ebbed away. This was the perfect place to relax after spending two days on a planet in orbit around a black hole.

Of course, she and the Doctor had found a different way to work through the tension last night. Rose's body grew warm as she remembered the frantic kiss when they'd been reunited, and then later, the way his desperate need to touch her had melted into tender ardor as they'd made love for the first time.

In fact, the only thing missing from her relaxing afternoon at the beach was the Doctor's presence. He'd wandered off twenty minutes ago with a vague comment about getting something to help them stay cool.

Rose turned her head and peered towards the cliff that kept their tiny cove secluded from the rest of the beach, just as the Doctor rounded the base of it. She grinned at him, then jumped up to meet him half way, taking care to avoid the broken seashells mixed in with the sand.

"Oh, ice cream!" she said when she saw what he had. She looked back and forth between the two waffle cones he held. One was filled with pink ice cream, the other with blue. "His and hers?" she guessed, rolling her eyes at the idea.

The Doctor chuckled. "No. Well, yes," he amended as he handed her the pink cone. "But not because you're female. I thought you would like this flavour."

Rose took it, then looked up at him. "What flavour is it?" she asked. "Some kind of local fruit?"

He smiled enigmatically as he took her hand and walked with her back to their beach blanket. "Try it," he invited.

Rose raised an eyebrow. She knew that tone of voice. It meant he'd planned a surprise that was amusing him.

The Doctor watched eagerly as Rose sat down on the blanket and took a tentative lick of her ice cream cone. At the first taste, she blinked and stared at the pink confection, then looked at him, her eyes wide.

"It's chocolate!"

He beamed. "Yep! You can get any flavour you want in any colour of the rainbow!" He waved his blue ice cream at her. "So this…"

"Is banana," Rose finished. "Blue banana."

He took a bite of his ice cream and hummed in delight when the cool treat slid down his throat. "Only the best banana ice cream in the galaxy."

Rose moved her sunglasses up to the top of her head and smirked at him. "Well, you would know," she teased. "I bet you've tried every banana flavoured dessert in five galaxies. Obsessed, you are."

Instead of defending himself, the Doctor watched as a drip of melted ice cream rolled off Rose's cone to land on the swell of her breast. She glanced down when it hit her skin and swiped at it with her finger, popping it into her mouth and humming when she tasted the chocolate again.

Desire stirred in his gut, and despite his best efforts to keep his eyes in appropriate places, he couldn't help but linger over her curves. Memories from the night before came into sharp relief, and he shifted on the blanket, grateful that at the very least, he could control the physical signs of his arousal.

With an effort, the Doctor looked away from Rose and fixed his gaze on his ice cream as he ate it with gusto. A moment later, a warm hand touched his naked thigh, and he nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Whoa!" Rose said, her voice soft. "What's got you so worked up?" she asked. "You're attacking that ice cream like it said something about your mother."

"Ah, well that would assume that I had a close relationship with my mother," the Doctor said, aware that he was babbling but willing to do anything to change the subject. "But actually Time Lords didn't really live in family units, and we didn't form close attachments as a general rule."

He heard rustling, and then Rose was in his line of vision again. "Not what I meant, and you know it," she admonished. "Tell me what's wrong?"

She leaned forward and rested her free hand on his knees, and he couldn't help but glance at the excellent view that gave him of her cleavage. The skimpy red bikini she wore hid almost nothing, and what was hidden… well, his memory filled in the blanks easily.

"Oh," she breathed.

He swallowed hard and looked away, studying the seagulls swooping over the waves.

"Doctor… You're allowed to look."

Not hearing any teasing or disappointment in her voice, the Doctor slowly looked back at Rose, not feeling as embarrassed now when the love bite on her neck caught his eye.

Rose's smile was warm and tender. "That's right," she said, noticing where he was looking. "You did more than look last night, if you remember."

"Oh, I remember," he whispered, the words falling from his lips before he could stop them.

"Then why are you so flustered now?"

The Doctor sighed and gestured to her melting ice cream. "Let's finish these, and then take a walk," he suggested.

It was difficult, but Rose kept her eyes focused on her ice cream while they ate. The Doctor was obviously feeling awkward about something, and the last thing she wanted to do was make him more uncomfortable by staring at him.

Finally, they finished and packed their belongings back into the TARDIS. She gave the Doctor what she hoped was a reassuring smile and held out her hand. "Ready if you are."

He smiled back and laced their hands together. "I'm always ready to spend time with you, Rose Tyler."

The words made Rose's heart skip a beat, and she brought his hand to her lips and pressed a kiss to the back of his fingers. "Tell me what was bothering you earlier?" she requested quietly.

The Doctor took a deep breath and led them along the shoreline. On their right, the sun was starting to sink to the horizon, turning the clouds in the sky a pale gold. On their left, a high cliff separated them from the town above.

"I wasn't really bothered." He kicked up sand as he talked. "It was more… I'm not used to being so… overwhelmed by desire," he explained.

Rose tilted her head to look at him, and he shook his head quickly.

"No, I'm not used to feeling desire at all," he corrected. "Sexual attraction for Time Lords was as rare and out of place as… as… as blue bananas!" he finally proclaimed.

Rose chuckled at the triumph in his voice when he settled on the perfect analogy. Then she remembered a conversation from long ago. "You said you'd danced, though."

The Doctor ran his free hand through his hair. "Oh, yes. Well, since the actual…" He coughed. "Having an erection is completely voluntary," he said, and she watched the tips of his ears turn pink. "I might never have been attracted to anyone, but you know how curious I am."

"Ah." Rose easily filled in the blanks of what he wasn't saying. Then another thought occurred to her, and anxiety knotted in her stomach. "So… how… um… how did it work with me?"

The Doctor tugged her to a stop. "Look at me, Rose."

Rose turned and looked up at him, biting her lip. "I mean, last night was… it was wonderful," she stammered. "But if it's not something you really want, I don't…"

Cool fingers pressed to her lips stopped the flow of words. When she was quiet, the Doctor smiled at her and brushed a piece of hair back over her ear. "I wanted you very much last night," he said, his voice low. "And I wanted you earlier when you teased me with your tongue while eating your ice cream. I've wanted you since the moment you stepped out of the wardrobe room in that Victorian dress."

Rose smiled shyly at the reference, then raised an eyebrow. "Not just considering I'm human, then?" she teased.

He shrugged. "That was my defence," he admitted. "Because though it was a rare occurrence, sexual attraction was possible for Time Lords and Gallifreyans. If we'd already formed a close emotional bond with the other person…"

The Doctor snapped his mouth shut before words he was afraid to say could stumble over his lips. Rose's eyes glistened with happiness, and he had a feeling she understood what he wasn't saying, regardless.

She stepped closer to him and rested her hands over his hearts. "So you're sayin' you wouldn't want anyone else? No matter how beautiful they were?"

A shudder of revulsion went through the Doctor. "I wouldn't even be tempted," he told her truthfully. "I just want you."

Her face stretched into a smile more breathtaking than she sunset happening behind her. The Doctor's hearts pounded hard in his chest when he realised how much his simple statement of commitment had meant to Rose.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. "Rose Tyler…" he whispered as he bumped his nose against hers.

Rose tilted her head until there was only a millimetre between their mouths. "Yeah?" she asked.

"You are the only one for me."

He felt the breath from her sigh, then she slid her hands up to link behind his neck and pulled his head down. When their lips met, the new sensation of desire swooping in his stomach nearly sent him to his knees.

Rose scraped her teeth over his bottom lip, and the Doctor opened his mouth, groaning when her tongue swept inside. Pleasure and arousal and desire were swirling through him so rapidly, he could hardly keep up.

When Rose pulled back to suck in a deep breath of oxygen, he almost sagged in relief. "Let's watch the sunset," he suggested before she could kiss him again. "Then we can go back to the TARDIS and… pick up where we left off."

Rose bit her lip, and he was unable to stop himself from kissing her quickly. Then he pulled back enough to allow her turn in his arms. When she was facing the water, he tightened his arms around her waist, and she rested her head back on his shoulder.

They both watched as the colours danced over the ocean. The red light of the sunset turned the blue water purple, and the wet sand around them reflected the sunset.

"Hey, Doctor?"

He lowered his head and nuzzled into her neck. "Yes, Rose?"

He didn't know what he thought she was going to say. Another question, maybe? But her words, when they came, took his breath away.

"You're the only one for me, too." She took one of his hands and laced their fingers together. "The Doctor and Rose Tyler."

He sighed and kissed her neck. "Just as it should be."

AN: This was written for Pride month, to explore the Doctor's demisexuality.