Beta: the utterly fabulous natural-blues
Chocolate Iced TARDISes
Rose woke to the sound of clanging pots and raised male voices.
Her eyes were still swollen and heavy, so she contemplated rolling over and going back to sleep before the sound of muffled voices and one loud shout of, "HARKNESS!" sounded through the TARDIS. Clearly Jack and the Doctor were fighting again — last time it'd been about his jacket — and it was up to Rose to break it up before the Doctor hurled Jack into a black hole (or a quantum singularity, as the Doctor called them). Sitting up and groaning, she shoved off the covers and padded into the hall, prepared to stand between two snarling lions trying to paw each other's faces off.
Just as she approached the door to the kitchen, where the voices were emanating, they stopped abruptly. No doubt the Doctor's superior Time Lord ears had helped him hear her and they'd stopped arguing to escape her wrath. She wasn't having it. Rose reached up to push open the door, but it swung open at once and a pale-faced Doctor sidled out and shut the door behind him abruptly, so the only glimpse of what was going on inside the kitchen was Jack Harkness covered in what looked like flour, holding a pot and grinning sheepishly.
"Sorry, did we wake you?" the Doctor said, in a disarmingly cheerful voice, arms crossed as he blocked the doorway.
Rose narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously and glanced between him and the door. "What's going on in there?"
"Nothing," he said, far too hastily.
"I heard yelling," she said, putting a hand on her hip.
The Doctor scowled. "It's Harkness. What do you expect?"
She bit her lip. "Gonna let me in?"
He pretended to think for a moment before grinning at her goofily. "Nope."
Rose stuck out her lower lip in a pout and tried not to read into the way his eyes darkened when they darted down to stare at it. "I wanna go in."
"Life is full of disappointments."
"'M hungry. Want breakfast."
He froze, contemplating what she said. "Right. Back in a tick."
He opened the door the briefest crack and slipped through it, shutting it abruptly before she could crane her neck to look in, but just long enough so she spotted Jack waving the pot enthusiastically at her upon yelling, "HI ROSIE!"
"Hi Jack," Rose said sarcastically from the other side of the door, wondering what the hell they were doing in there.
"Why can't Rosie come in?" she heard Jack say.
"'Cos then she'll see everything," the Doctor replied, as clanging sounds started up.
"See what?" Rose called in amusement, hearing the Doctor swear quietly when he realised she could hear them.
"Nothing!" said Jack cheerfully.
The sound of the toaster popping up and the tinkling of spoon on porcelain sounded through the kitchen. Rose hazarded a guess at what the Doctor was doing, which sounded like he was making her toast and tea. She grinned and flushed with delight. The Doctor almost never made her breakfast — only when he'd taken them to a planet that ended in her covered in some kind of goo, and she refused to speak to him — and though she appreciated the sentiment, she hoped he wouldn't burn it too badly. He could barely handle soup from a tin without scalding it and setting something on fire.
He emerged, beaming and holding a plate with two pieces of toast (a little burnt, but only slightly) and a cup of tea. She accepted it with a tongue-in-teeth grin, making his beam widen if that was physically possible. "So, I'm banned from the kitchen, s'that it?"
"Exactly that, clever Rose Tyler." He nodded, still smiling. "Banned. Right-o."
"So where do I eat?" she pointed out.
He froze again, getting that same look of contemplation he had before. "Right. Back in another tick."
The Doctor slipped back through the door yet again, before opening it again just wide enough for two chairs to slip through. Rose laughed as he pushed the first into the hall with her and then went back for the second.
"I wanna eat breakfast with Rosie."
"You're covered in powdered sugar, stupid."
Rose caught a glimpse of Jack sticking out his chin and glaring daggers as the Doctor emerged with the second chair and shut the door behind him again. Then he plopped into the second chair and motioned with a jaunty wave for her to sit in the other chair. She did obediently, nibbling on her toast.
"What could you and Jack possibly be doing in there?" Rose wondered aloud.
"It's a secret," he said, tapping the side of his nose knowingly.
Rose swallowed a mouthful of tea. "Jack finally seduced you, then? S'that what you're doing in there? Were you shagging on the kitchen table?"
The Doctor's face flamed as Jack sighed on the other end of the door, "If only, Rose."
Rose grinned at the Doctor, who was now scowling petulantly, and took another bite of her toast. "Walked in on my mum doin' that one day, shagging this bloke she'd met at the laundrette on the table. Swear to God, I nearly died of embarrassment; that was more of my mum than I ever wanted to see."
"And that was more of Jackie than I ever wanted to know," the Doctor muttered, shuddering.
"So, are you making something? Hold on, is it my birthday and you're makin' me a cake?"
"Your birthday's not for another month and a half," the Doctor said.
"Oh. Hard to tell in the Vortex, an' we missed it last year," Rose shrugged, finishing off her toast. "I'm impressed with the toast, Doctor. You didn't turn it into a charred lump of dust."
"Oi!" he exclaimed indignantly, as Jack snorted from in the kitchen.
Rose patted his arm comfortingly, missing the fact that he actually softened at the gesture. "You do make brilliant cuppas, though."
His goofy grin returned as he preened, looking unimaginably pleased with himself. "I do know tea."
Rose proved this by finishing off her tea and licking her lips. Handing him the plate and the mug, she announced, "Well, since I'm banned from the kitchen, apparently, I'm going to take a shower. You two… keep shagging on the table."
"Rose," the Doctor hissed while Jack said happily, "You heard her, it was an order!"
Rose giggled and sauntered back to her room, shaking her head. She lived with one Time Lord idiot and one randy human idiot, and they were both ridiculous. What could they possibly be doing in the kitchen? It probably was her birthday, and the Doctor had lied to throw her off. She reached for her mobile and checked the date, frowning when it corresponded to what the Doctor had said. Her birthday really wasn't for another month and a half. Rose was just going to put the mobile back on her vanity when it started to ring, and Rose saw it was Mickey calling. Eager to reconcile with him, especially after Cardiff, she answered it.
"Micks!"
"'Lo Rose," he grunted, still sounding irritated.
"How've you been? What's the matter, is something wrong? Is it Mum?"
"I'm not allowed to call unless something's wrong, eh?"
Rose sighed at his grumpy tone. "No, Micks, you can call whenever you like."
"Good," he said, sounding slightly more cheerful.
She worried her lip. "Listen, Mickey, about Cardiff, I'm really sorry."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
Silence on his end, in which Rose imagined him sitting in his flat with the mobile pressed to his ear, grinning. "I'll forgive you, then. On one condition."
"What's that, then?"
"Get himself to bring that blue box round here and spend Valentine's Day with me. No Doctor, no Harkness, just you an' me."
Rose blushed, biting her lip and trying not to grin. "All right then. When is it?"
"Er, today."
"It's today?" Rose gaped, completely shocked. She pulled the mobile away from her ear and checked the date again. February the fourteenth. How had she missed that earlier? "Blimey, I had no idea!"
"So, you'll come then?" Mickey said, sounding hopeful.
"'Course I will, Micks," Rose replied, smirking when she heard him hum happily. "Say, an hour? Meet you at Mum's?"
"Sounds good, babe," he said, and Rose could almost hear him beaming. "See ya."
Rose hung up, smiling like an idiot at her rumpled duvet. It'd been ages since she'd simply hung out with Mickey— she'd been with the Doctor almost two years now, and had devoted most of her attention to him, something that Mickey had noticed. Her smile fell into a guilty expression. She'd neglected Mickey, who was, as she'd said, her oldest mate — they'd known each other since they were running around in nappies — and yet she kept abandoning him for the mysterious stranger who'd come into her life, bringing with him danger and brilliance and evil shop dummies. In her defence, though, it wasn't as though she could help it, being so helplessly in love with him. Not that he'd ever feel the same.
Now feeling particularly upset, Rose forced herself not to think about that and instead tried to look forward to the day ahead of her as she stripped off her jimjams and stepped into the shower. As though somehow making it up to Mickey, she used her old strawberry-scented shampoo instead of her usual banana-scented one, the one the Doctor adored and had picked out for her. The first time she'd used it and had walked into the library, where he'd been sitting in one of the chintz armchairs reading, of all things, Something for Breakfast, his head had jerked up and a silly grin had graced his face when she'd passed him. She'd pretended not to notice every time, though, and also pretended it didn't stir her imagination and bring about fantasies of the Doctor in her shower, lathering the shampoo into her hair and murmuring about what her smelling like bananas did to him.
Bother.
The Doctor and Jack had just started to argue again, this time in hushed voices, in case it prompted Rose to investigate again; when she sauntered up to the door again, hair still dripping wet, and knocked. The voices died abruptly, and Rose almost giggled as she pictured them both standing in the middle of the kitchen staring at the door like two deer caught in headlights.
"Arguing again, are we?" Rose joked, as the Doctor sidled out through the barely-opened door again.
"No," he lied smoothly.
"Right," she said sarcastically. "Could you pilot the TARDIS to the Estates?"
He frowned. "How come?"
"Apparently it's Valentine's Day," Rose said. "I'm spending it with Mickey."
The Doctor's face darkened and he swallowed. "Oh?"
"He just rang, and I owe him for Cardiff," Rose said, fidgeting under his almost irritated gaze. He didn't really hate Mickey that much, did he? "So can you, um...?"
He inhaled. "Er, right. Yeah, I could do— yeah."
She beamed at him. "Thanks!" She tossed her arms around his neck and gave him a hug before bouncing back to her room to get properly ready, not noticing the fact that the Doctor hadn't moved a muscle the whole while she was walking away. She blow-dried her hair, put on her make up, grabbed her handbag and her wallet and headed into the console room. She found the Doctor flipping switches with no enthusiasm whatsoever. His expression was stony until he glanced up from glaring at the time rotor and realised she was there; at once he beamed.
"Ready, Rose?" he asked with false joviality.
She nodded, narrowing her eyes. "Yeah, let's go."
Rose gripped the console rail as the Doctor started slamming things, his eyes dark even with the giant grin on his face, even as he did the signature waltz around the console that usually lit up his face. She opened her mouth to inquire about this before the TARDIS landed with a bump, tossing her to the ground. At once he was standing over her, looking at her from over his nose, hand outstretched.
"Thanks," said Rose gratefully, accepting it and letting him pull her up.
The Doctor nodded, letting go of her hand far too quickly and turning his back on her to return to the console. "Have fun."
"Ta," Rose said, slinging her handbag over her shoulder and heading out the doors. She paused and turned, regarding him with her head tilted to the side. "Doctor?"
"Yes, Rose?" He sounded flippant.
"Happy Valentine's Day."
His expression softened even though he still didn't look at her. "Happy Valentine's Day, Rose."
She smiled at him before exiting the TARDIS, the late morning air whipping her hair back as the doors closed behind her. He stayed frozen, still as a statue and watching the TARDIS doors through which Rose had left. Her scent of strawberry shampoo lingered in the console room, and he tried to block it out. Ever since he'd bought her the banana-scented shampoo when he'd taken her to Pshldk, the interspecies asteroid bazaar, she'd used it every time she'd showered. And that thrilled him. In more ways than one, most of which ashamed him. But now she'd used the strawberry shampoo. The kind she used to use when she'd been with Rickey. And she was using it again for Rickey.
Somehow… that hurt. Especially since he'd just spent the morning doing something he thought he'd never do, less so in this body. But Jack had suggested it, and at first he'd refused, sticking to his earlier motto of it being 'beneath a Time Lord', and yet Jack managed to get him to do it with a, "Do it for Rose." So he'd caved.
It looked to him like all of it was in vain, because Rose was gone, spending Valentine's Day with him. The Day of Love. But Rose wasn't supposed to love him, at least not anymore. They'd been separated since Cardiff. At least, that's what he'd gathered. Well, not gathered, more like overheard. While eavesdropping. But that was beside the point. He was probably just stupid for getting his hopes up. Stupid Time Lord.
Rose was greeted with the usual onslaught of Jackie Tyler when she walked through the door, consisting of loud, excited squeals about her being back, a, "How long are you stayin' for?", and the usual insults about her 'huge-eared alien'. Mickey was already at Jackie's, lounged on the couch watching the football game with his arms thrown over the back of the couch and the remote tipping in his hand.
He turned when he heard her approach and grinned at her. "'Lo, babe."
She grinned back. "'Lo, Micks. Are we goin', or d'you want to finish the match?"
"Football can wait," he replied, clicking off the telly and standing.
Rose dropped her jaw in mock astonishment. "Mickey Smith, forsaking a football match to spend time with Rose Tyler? Unimaginable!"
Mickey tried to scowl at her and failed, as he pulled her into a huge hug. Jackie was watching from the doorway and beamed in delight, even knowing her daughter and Mickey were separated. It was nice to see Rose hanging out with someone who wasn't leather-clad, Northern and rude.
"I was able to pull you away from Mister Superiority and the randy Captain, eh?" Mickey joked, as they bid Jackie goodbye, clasped hands and started down the steps.
"Micks, you're still my oldest mate even though we're not together anymore. As for the Doctor and Jack… they're up to something."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Woke up this morning and they were in the kitchen yellin' up a storm. Wouldn't let me in, wouldn't tell me what they were doin' in there."
Mickey stopped in his tracks and regarded her with narrowed eyes. "Sounds to me like they're makin' you Valentine's chocolate."
Rose snorted. "If it were anybody else, I'd think that too. 'Cept this is the Doctor we're talkin' about. He doesn't do Valentine's Day. D'you know what we did last Valentine's Day?"
"What?"
"I mentioned offhand in the morning that it was February the fourteenth, and he said, 'Oh, halfway through February, is it?' S'not funny," Rose added when Mickey started to snigger. "Directly afterwards he took me to Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, in the year 5000. We got arrested 'cos the Doctor insulted the Chief of Police and spent Valentine's Day in prison with a group of hooligans who kept trying to get me to shag them."
"Christ, babe, that's gotta be the worst Valentine's Day ever," Mickey whistled, giving her hand a squeeze. "But that was when you two barely knew each other, yeah? He's different now."
"Yeah, he is," Rose said, smiling. "But not that different. Trust me, there's no way Jack managed to convince him to make chocolate. Unless it was for himself." She shook her head, grinning. "Anyway. Where d'you want to go?"
"Let's grab lunch, I'm peckish," Mickey suggested, tugging her towards his yellow VW beetle.
She let go of his hand and climbed into the car, suddenly squirming with guilt when she remembered how she used to tease him for how old and battered the thing was. Now she travelled in a 1950's police box that was actually several centuries old. The difference, though, was that the TARDIS was sentient and beautiful, while the beetle had broken down twice.
They drove over to Poppies Fish and Chips, which was crowded with couples who seemed to regard every moment not spent kissing each other as a moment of life wasted. Mickey went the colour of the confetti adorning the floor at the sight of it and had to ask for their chips to go, so they could escape the couples' escapades and sit outside.
"I'm beginning to see Big Ears' point of view about this ruddy holiday," Mickey grumbled, when he noticed the table behind them had a couple that was practically eye-shagging each other over their shared milkshake.
Rose tried not to collapse into a fit of giggles as she tried imagined herself and the Doctor in the couple's place. He'd probably complain about how 'unbelievably healthy that milkshake is, Rose Tyler' and spend a full hour lecturing her about fat accumulation in some alien species she'd never heard of.
"Speakin' o' himself, how've you been?" he added, the look of concern he shot her losing effect when he stuffed a handful of chips into his mouth simultaneously.
"What d'you mean, how've I been?" Rose said, frowning at him and popping a chip into her mouth.
"Like, how's he been treatin' you?" Mickey elaborated. "Still being a thoughtless git?"
Rose frowned. "The Doctor's not thoughtless!"
Mickey snorted. "That's not how it looks like to me, babe. Seems to me like he drags you into danger without thinkin' about the fact that, if you died, there'd be people that'd miss you."
Rose teared up at that, and she smiled and squeezed Mickey's hand. "Micks… thank you. But the Doctor is far from thoughtless. It isn't just danger and near-death experiences."
"Yeah?" he said, not sounding entirely convinced.
She nodded, fully aware that a lovesick smile was starting on her face and she couldn't stop it. "Yeah. To you, all you see is us savin' the world and getting kidnapped or sentenced to execution or something—"
"What?"
"— but there's so much more to it. It's adventure, Micks. It's seein' the most unbelievable things, things that are just gorgeous and things you'd think were impossible. It's saving the world, seein' the faces of everyone you just saved from certain death, then comin' home to a sentient ship that's more than happy to make you dinner, since the Doctor can't cook for shit," she added.
Mickey looked windblown. "Blimey, when you put it that way…" He paused and regarded her. "What do you and the git do in that blue box?"
Rose shrugged, looking at her fingernails. "Loads of stuff. Depends on the day. If we have a good one, we make popcorn and watch a film together, or we sit in the library and he reads me Charles Dickens. If we have a bad one he either tinkers with the TARDIS or we just sort of talk, I s'pose." She chuckled. "Despite him claiming to hate domestics, he sure does an awful lot of 'em."
Mickey snorted at her last comment, before switching his attention to the one before that. "Lemme guess, you two snuggle whenever you're doin' them things, eh?" He was joking, but his jaw dropped when Rose flushed and suddenly found the table very interesting. "Oh, my God, you do!"
"Only once!" Rose said quickly, before pausing. "Okay, twice. Three times. Five. Oh, I dunno!"
Mickey laughed aloud as Rose covered her pink face in her hands. "Never took him for a cuddler, all brooding and rude."
Rose lowered her hands, looking earnest. "Me neither, to be honest. Shocked the hell outta me, first time. I just cuddled up to him one day as a joke, just to see what he'd do, and he just… didn't let go." Mickey smirked and Rose's blush returned full force.
"You love him, don'tcha?" he said.
Rose looked him over once to see if there was any hesitation or jealousy in his stance and, thankfully finding none, she nodded. "Yeah."
"An' he cuddles with you."
She nodded again.
"Doesn't that let off any signals?" he said, looking at her with eyebrows raised.
"Like I said, this is the Doctor we're talking about," Rose said lightly.
"Honestly, Rose, you're being silly," Mickey sighed. "You just told me about a hundred signs. He shows you the world on a regular basis, snuggles with you, reads to you, and is most likely makin' you Valentine's Day chocolates, however sure you are that he isn't," he added, when Rose opened her mouth to protest. "He also checks you out when your back is turned."
"He does not, Micks," Rose fretted, face now the colour of the milkshake the couple adjacent to them was currently snogging over.
"You don't see it, 'cos your back is turned," Mickey said breezily. "But I've seen it, an' so has your mum. S'probably why she hates him so much, thinkin' he's another Jimmy Stone. Older bloke whisking her daughter away, eye-shagging her when her back's turned…"
"Micks," Rose all but wailed, and Mickey took pity on her and ceased his insistence.
"All right, all right," he grinned. "Want to go buy some Valentine's Day chocolates for himself and Captain Cheesecake?"
Rose thought for a moment before shaking her head. "Let's make some. If he really is makin' chocolate — and mind you, that's a huge 'if' — I don't want it to be odd when I give 'em bought chocolates."
Mickey agreed, and upon picking up the empty chip box and tossing it in the bin the two of them headed back to Mickey's car and drove to an internet café. They logged into one of the computers there and had fun looking up hundreds of different recipes for making chocolate. Mickey kept suggesting ones dosed with liquor ("If we get him wasted, he'll finally blurt out how he stares at your bum whenever you look away!") but after much arguing and a punch in the arm from Rose they finally settled on a simple recipe that included banana cream and banana icing. It sounded like it'd be perfect for the Doctor, so they paid to have a copy printed and headed towards the store.
"Says here we need three quarters of a block of copha," Mickey read aloud as he pushed the cart down the aisle, Rose at his side. "What the sodden hell is copha?"
"Mum uses it, it's vegetable shortening," Rose explained, scanning the shelves where the shortening was stacked. "Found it."
"'Kay, then we need cocoa powder… got that at home, but grab another, not sure how much we got left… also powdered milk. Where the hell would you find powdered milk?"
"I'll ask, hold on a mo'," Rose said, sauntering off to find a shop helper as Mickey tossed banana icing, icing sugar, vanilla extract and evaporated milk into the cart. He was mentally remarking that the Doctor better like this, because most of the things they were buying were expensive, when Rose returned holding a package of powdered milk.
"Got everything?" Rose asked, and when Mickey nodded she beamed. "Brilliant, let's go then!"
They paid for the groceries and hauled them back to Mickey's car, and they drove to Jackie's flat.
"You went grocery shopping?" Jackie exclaimed when they dragged the bags up the half-dozen flights of stairs and through the door. "Well thank you, but I did the shopping yesterday."
"S'not for you, Mum," Rose said, not even breaking a sweat while Mickey was practically wheezing. "Mickey and I are gonna make the Doctor and Jack chocolates."
"He's doin' the same for her, if what she told me is any indication," Mickey added, once he'd caught his breath.
"What's he talkin' about, then?" Jackie asked.
"Nothin', Mum."
"Rose woke up this mornin' to ol' Big Ears and Jack Harkness arguin' in the kitchen," Mickey said, now dragging the bags into the kitchen. "Wouldn't let her go in to see what they were doin'."
Jackie's jaw dropped to the floor. "Big ears and leather? Makin' chocolates for my Rose? Him?"
"Anyway," Rose half-shouted, face red again. "Let's, um, start on these, shall we?"
Jackie and Mickey smirked at each other but said nothing further. As it turned out, Rose had a lot of fun making chocolates for the Doctor (and Jack). Mickey had never been the most fantastic cook, as he practically lived off TV dinners, but he was good at measuring things and was always more than happy to take over the stirring whenever Rose's arm would get tired. Halfway through he slightly tipped over the bowl of liquid chocolate and spilled some of it on Jackie's towels, and they had to pause their efforts to listen to Jackie yell at them for ten minutes, but eventually the chocolate was nearly done and they were about halfway through making the banana filling.
"How long does the recipe say to keep it on the heat?" Rose said, as she decorated the chocolates with little iced TARDISes that looked more like windows.
"'Till it gets thick, which it is," Mickey replied, switching off the stove. "Now we've just gotta add the bananas. Speakin' o' bananas, how come he likes 'em so much?"
"Bananas are good," Rose shrugged, fixing her lines with a toothpick.
"Yeah, that's what he said." Mickey frowned as he added up a mashed banana and a capful of vanilla extract into the thick mixture in the pot and resumed his stirring. "Doesn't really answer the question."
"The Doctor is a master at deflection, Micks," Rose reminded him.
"Seems like you're turnin' into him, babe," Mickey pointed out.
"Well, he is brilliant," Rose grinned, tongue in teeth, before adding, "Only don't tell him I said that. His head'll get bigger and the TARDIS won't be able to dematerialise."
Mickey sniggered, before examining the banana cream. "Looks like it's cooled."
"Good," Rose said, straightening up and tossing the empty icing container in the bin. "Now how are we gonna get the filling in the chocolates?"'
Mickey opened his mouth to answer before pausing, mouth still agape. Jackie, overhearing them, bustled in and said, "I've a trick I use for those cupcakes I make for Bev's birthday. Want me to show you?"
Rose nodded and stepped aside, watching as Jackie pulled out a minuscule baster, of all things, out of the drawer. With a knife she cut off the corners of one of the chocolates and then, dipping the baster in the cream, squeezed it so that the cream spilled into the chocolate through the corner's hole. They repeated this action with all the rest until there were a dozen banana cream-filled chocolates.
"Those look fantastic," Jackie noted, once they all sat back and admired their work.
"Cheers," Mickey grinned, nicking one and popping it into his mouth. "Blimey, they taste fantastic too."
"Ta," Rose beamed. "I just hope the Doctor and Jack think so too."
"That big-eared idiot does not deserve you," Jackie said, patting her daughter on the cheek fondly as Mickey nicked two more chocolates.
"Mum…"
"Well, he doesn't!" Jackie smoothed back Rose's hair and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Now, go and give these masterpieces to your Doctor. If he doesn't drop to his knees and start confessin' things, then he's a heartless git."
"He's not 'my' Doctor, Mum."
"An' he's actually got two hearts," Mickey added through a mouthful of chocolate.
"I meant figuratively," Jackie said lightly, before addressing her daughter again, "An' you may want to take 'em and go before Mister Mickey here eats 'em all."
They scooped the remaining six chocolates into two separate baggies and Rose left, feeling excited and nervous as Jackie and Mickey waved her off at the door, shouting, "AN' MAKE SURE YOU KISS HIM!"
She paused when she turned the corner and spotted the TARDIS. Her heart thrummed against her chest. She and Mickey had worked hard on the chocolates in the bags that were now at the bottom of her handbag, but suddenly Rose wasn't sure whether or not she ought to give it to him. How would he react? What if he guessed how she felt, decided he didn't want a lovesick ape around him and left her behind?
Rose inhaled deeply, steeling herself. She was Rose Tyler, companion to the Doctor, whose arse she's saved on several occasions; shop girl who saved the world on a daily basis and blew up 10 Downing Street while still in the building. Holding her head high, she strode quickly to the TARDIS and pushed open the door.
She found the console room empty, which was shocking since she'd expected to find the Doctor underneath it poking at the TARDIS's systems. The first person she met, actually, was Jack, who was walking down the hall and happened to spot her.
"Rosie's home!" he burst out happily, bouncing into the console room and giving her a big hug that would have prompted an Oncoming Storm glare, had the Doctor been present. "Did you have fun with Mickey Mouse?"
"Yeah, had a blast," Rose grinned. "How about you and the Doctor?"
Jack frowned. "Did you say anything to him or was he just like that because you were with Mickey?"
Rose raised her eyebrows at him. "What d'you mean?"
"Ever since you left this morning he's been sulking," he said matter-of-factly. "I'm assuming you didn't tell him to shove it or something?" Rose shook her head and he nodded. "So it is jealousy." He pouted. "It was awful. I ended up leaving the TARDIS, venturing out into London and spending the day with a lovely woman called Emily."
Rose rolled her eyes, and quickly changed the subject before Jack started describing just what he and 'Emily' had done. Pulling out Jack's bag, she handed it to him and watched him examine it closely. "That's for you."
He beamed, the expression Rose imagined he'd probably have if she ever let him shag her. "Really? Aw, Rose!"
With a swift movement he swept her into a half-hug and planted a kiss on her mouth; a chaste one, as Jack wasn't stupid and knew that if he pushed it she'd most likely slap him. Rose blinked with shock as he pulled away and bounced off, grinning happily at his bag of chocolates. Her cheeks burned and she brought a hand to her lips, staring wide-eyed at the spot where Jack had vanished. Then she shook her head, chuckled and set off in search of the Doctor.
She found him in the library, doing that thing he did whenever he was upset but was pretending otherwise, where he'd sit stony-faced with a book in the chair in front of the fire without actually reading anything. He looked up at her with wide-eyes when she entered, and barely returned her sheepish smile.
"Hello, Doctor," she said quietly, entering the room and sitting next to him on the chesterfield.
The Doctor lowered the book and budged up so she'd have more room, smiling at her but without a trace of mirth. "Hello, Rose. Did you have fun?"
"Yeah, I did," Rose said. "Was nice to hang out with Mickey like old times." The shadow flickered over his face, and this time Rose noticed it; as she put her hand over the Doctor's she said quietly, "Are you all right, Doctor?"
"I'm always all right, Rose," he reminded her, grinning jovially that didn't quite meet his eyes.
"Which is code for you're not," Rose said, and his grin faded at her words. "All right, if you won't tell me, maybe this'll cheer you up."
She released his hand and turned away to rummage around in her bag, pulling out the Doctor's bag of chocolates and handing it to him with a tongue-in-teeth grin. He blinked down at it, mouth agape and staring like it was something indescribable instead of simple chocolates.
"S'what me and Mickey did all day," Rose said, ducking her head and blushing. "Um, there used to be twelve, but Mickey ate half and I gave three to Jack, so..."
"Thank you, Rose," he said, extremely softly. He smiled for real. "Never got a gift before."
"Nine hundred years of time and space, and you've never gotten a gift before?" Rose grinned, and the two of them chuckled. "Go on, tell me if it's awful or not."
He waggled his eyebrows and, opening the bag and took out one of the chocolates, chuckling at the mini icing TARDISes. Popping it into his mouth, his eyes lit up. "Bananas!"
"Bananas are good," Rose grinned. "Someone told me that once."
The Doctor beamed at her, now looked excited. "Wait here."
He jumped up and jogged out of the room, half-hugging the bag of chocolates to his chest. She watched where he'd disappeared with a grin— she'd only ever seen him this excited after the Blitz, when they'd had the adventure where nobody had died. He returned a brief minute later, hands behind his back, blue eyes twinkling with delight and firelight. The bag of chocolates she made him was sticking out of his pocket.
Rose stared at him with a confused smile and said, "What are you—?"
The Doctor pulled his hands out from behind his back, revealing an extremely tiny, mangled-looking brown chocolate in his palm. Rose stared at it as he looked unimaginably pleased with himself, and, trying hard not to hurt his feelings, said, "Um, what is it?"
"Oi!" he said, trying to look angry but unable to wipe the grin off his face. "S'chocolate! There would be more, but—" he looked sheepish, "—I'm a rubbish cook."
Rose felt a smile growing on her face. "This morning… you and Jack were actually—?"
"Yep!" he beamed, handing her the chocolate.
She cupped it in her palms, too shocked to do anything but stare at it. Then, snapping herself out of it and blinking back tears, she popped it in her mouth and chewed. He looked nervous, watching her expression as she swallowed. With another tongue-touched grin she said, "I hope you were trying to make it taste like bacon."
He blanched. "Er—"
Rose bit her lip and giggled, "I was kidding."
The Doctor tried to give her a mock-glare but was interrupted with her tossing her arms round his neck and hugging him tightly. He hugged her back, perhaps more tightly than she was, face buried in her hair, breathing in her scent.
"Thank you, Doctor," she whispered.
"Thank you, Rose," he murmured back, lips next to her ear, making her shudder.
They stood there for who knows how long, rocking back and forth, simply enjoying the other's presence. Rose had her head resting on his shoulder, eyes closed, basking in the warmth from his body and fireplace, until he started to pull away slowly. An apology was about to form on her lips, but before she could get out a sound he captured her slightly parted mouth with his own.
She was so stunned she didn't reciprocate at first — the Doctor couldn't be kissing her — and that must have frightened him because he started to pull away almost at once and mumbled, "I'm—"
Rose slid her hands into his cropped hair and crashed her lips onto his. He gathered her up in his arms and kissed her back, and Rose had to force back tears at how furiously and desperately he was kissing her, like he'd been fighting the desire to for years. Her heart felt like it was swelling in her chest— he had spent the morning making Valentine's Day chocolate for her, withdrew when she'd left with Mickey and kissed her when he'd discovered she'd spent her day with Mickey making chocolates for him— which she now tasted on his lips. Now she knew why. But she needed to hear it.
She pulled away not even a centimetre back, keeping her hand on his cheek and resting her forehead on his, both of them breathing heavily. "Doctor, I love you."
He let out one shuddering breath. "Precious girl, I love you too."
The tears she'd been fighting back spilled over her cheeks and she dove forward to kiss him again, feeling him smiling under her lips. She slipped her tongue between his grinning lips and hummed when he met it with his own; she tasted the banana cream she and Mickey had made and was proud of herself when she discovered it was delicious, although that may just be the Doctor himself. Like Rose had always fantasised of doing, she tugged the leather jacket off his shoulders and tossed it in the corner, the sound of it dropping unbelievably satisfying. He took that initiative to slip his hands underneath her vest top, splaying his hands on her waist and sighing at the warm, naked skin he found. His mouth travelled down her jaw, nipping kisses down her neck and over her chest, pausing only to let her tug his green jumper over his head and throw it away to join his jacket. Her eyes traced his bare chest and she trailed her fingers from his sternum down to his stomach, with jerked under her touch.
Rose briefly wondered how the two of them had gone from making Valentine's Day chocolates to halfway to second base before the Doctor started to tug her vest top over her head and let it drop on the couch. With a swift movement only a Time Lord could do, he slipped his hands over her bottom and picked her up, and, holding her close, strode quickly across the room and laid her down in front of the hearth. A thin blue blanket appeared next to them (he was going to have to have a word with the TARDIS about her involvement… and thank her), and he grabbed it, laying it out on the ground and lowering her onto it before he straddled her hips with his thighs and stared down at her with hooded eyes— ice blue darkened from the firelight into a cerulean/gold mix, holding an unasked question and some of his old doubts despite Rose's earlier words. She reached up and looped her arms round his neck again, pulling him down so she could kiss him. Beneath her hands she literally felt him calm down, tensed muscles relaxing as his head dipped and his lips sought hers again.
The Doctor's hand trailed up her bare stomach and pulled the cups of her bra down, making her breasts push up as though eager for his touch; he proved this theory by cupping them gently in his palms, and her nipples hardened at once, shocking him. As though almost curious, he leaned down and pulled one of them into his mouth, a groan slipping up his throat when Rose made a most delicious keening sound and arched up into him. Spurred on by her response, he started to tug at her jeans and she obediently raised her hips so he could tug them off; she whimpered when he nibbled on her right nipple. Unwrapping one arm off of his neck, she let her hand trail down his chest and undo his zip. They both moaned when Rose slipped her hand inside his jeans and wrapped her hand around his swollen erection, the Doctor being the loudest.
He grabbed her wrist but didn't pull her away, instead looking down at her with eyes wide with nervousness and desperation. "Rose, if you do that I'm not gonna be able to—"
She shut him up by capturing his lips again and twisted her wrist around him, making him groan against her mouth and buck into her hand. Along with her ministrations the two managed to get his jeans and her knickers off simultaneously, and upon positioning him over her entrance and wrapping her legs around his waist, Rose nodded at his questioning look and, wasting no time with foreplay, he slid into her.
She felt a twinge of pain mixed with the pleasure, and either it'd been a long time since Rose had been with a man or the Doctor was bigger than she'd expected. He stilled while she adjusted, body trembling every few moments with the effort of holding back, and when she wriggled and pressed her feet into his bum he sighed with relief and started to move. He rocked into her slowly and sweetly, coaxing gentle sighs from her and raining soft kisses over her neck and her face. Soon his pace sped up and their mingling sighs turned into concurrent moans; she wasn't quite there yet but he was shuddering with the effort of holding back from shooting off like an overeager youth. He forced himself with all his control to stop his erratic thrusting and reached down with one hand to press his thumb against her clit and rub hard. She moaned long and loud at that, her skin shining with sweat and glistening in the firelight, eyebrows arching and teeth capturing her bottom lip. He marvelled at the sight of her— Rassilon, she was beautiful. He resumed his thrusting whilst simultaneously rubbing her clit; she shattered with a scream, walls clenching around him, and now she wasn't just beautiful, she was the most gorgeous thing he'd ever seen. Then his head kicked back and with a final loud groan he collapsed, spilling himself into her.
Rose hugged him to her sweaty, naked body, both of them breathing heavily. "Doctor?"
The Doctor pressed his face into her neck. "Yes, Rose?"
"I love you."
He tried to look at her with confusion but just ended up beaming. "You said that already."
She gave him a tongue-in-teeth grin. "Thought you needed to hear it again."
He hummed in delight and held her to him tighter. "Rose?"
"Yes, Doctor?"
"Next time, use the banana shampoo again," he said, and she giggled.
They manoeuvred the blanket on top of them and snuggled in content silence, and Rose was starting to drift off against his chest... until the unmistakable voice of Jack Harkness sounded through the room, laced with amusement.
"Well, this is an interesting development."
A/N: Third in my Who Holidays series :) Special thanks to whoever keeps putting my fics in the Best, Funny and Romantic Fanfiction community— makes me grin like an idiot whenever I find my stories in there :3 Happy Valentine's Day, Whovians!
Regarding my last Who Holidays A/N where I asked very nicely for nobody to follow it, since it clearly said it was completed... four people followed it -_- Please stop, you're driving me up the wall XD unless of course, you did it by purpose, in which case, you cheeky little things ;) lol. But seriously, please don't follow this fic either. It says it's done.