"Where are we?" Rose asked eagerly as the TARDIS landed.
The Doctor had been very secretive about their destination giving her only that it'd be a much needed relaxation day.
She had been a little down since they returned from the parallel world and left Mickey behind. The thought of never seeing her dear friend again left an ache in her chest.
She perked up a little when she walked into the galley and found the Doctor grinning with excitement and as much as she begged and pleaded he wouldn't tell her where they were going.
He remained secretive all throughout the journey and even now as he grinned from ear to ear and motioned towards the door.
She grinned back at him and then bounded toward the doors. Her pulse thrummed heavy through her veins as she grabbed hold of the handles. No matter how many travels they went on, no matter how long she stayed with the Doctor she knew she'd never get tired of this moment; Opening the doors to a brand new world.
She released a breath and then pulled open the doors and stepped outside.
The landscape was vaguely similar to Earth, she noticed. She stood on what looked like Earth grass and just out in front of her was the edge of a cliff, overlooking a violet sky with two lavender moons shining brightly.
On either side of her was a forest of tall, thin, multicolored trees and her eyes widened in awe at the variety of vibrant colors.
She turned around when she heard the doors closing and grinned at the Doctor. "This is beautiful!"
He continued to grin back at her and it was then she noticed he had a folded blanket thrown over his arm.
"Oh yes." He agreed, walking up to stand next to her.
"What's the blanket for?" She wondered and he smirked but only nodded toward the cliff face.
"Go on, look out."
She bit her lip eyeing him for a moment and then walked forward.
Her jaw dropped as she looked out and saw miles stretched wide of pink sanded beach meeting an ocean as deep a purple as the sky. And thousands of people gathered on the beach as far as the eye could see.
"What is all this?" She asked as the Doctor approached from behind.
"It's Independence Day!" He explained. "And it's brilliant because it's not a country or even a continent wide celebration. It's a planet wide celebration! About, oh, 5000 years ago they had been invaded by a nasty race, called the Mokols. They came in and took over everything, burned down villages and forests, slaughtered almost the entire population and then enslaved the survivors."
Rose frowned deeply, her heart clenching at the thought. "That's awful…"
The Doctor hummed in agreement. "Yes, and their reign of terror lasted almost 4000 years with generation after generation just being held prisoner on their own planet. But, as small of a population as they were, they were clever, oh so very clever. Those thousands of years they weren't sitting around letting it happen. They started planning a revolution and it took thousands of years to plan and gather enough supplies to actually go through with it but once they did...oh they were brilliant!" He grinned and Rose smiled back, listening intently to his story.
"The Mokols had their headquarters in the city just a few miles that way." He pointed behind them beyond where the TARDIS sat. "So the battle, the victory battle happened right here on this beach. Because you see what the Mokols didn't know was that the revolution was run in secret because only a select few knew about it, and those select few adapted over the years to live and breathe underwater. So they hid," he pointed out over the ocean, "right there for hundreds, thousands of years...The Mokols never even thought to look there so they never saw the attack coming. As with any war, lives were lost on both sides but the planet was victorious and ran the Mokols off the planet for good. So every year people from all over the planet come to this beach and celebrate."
Rose smiled. "That's lovely. So we're going down there?"
"Er...um, no." The Doctor tugged at his ear. "No we're not."
Rose furrowed her brow. "Why not?"
"Welllllll because they had been invaded and enslaved for millennia they really are not too fond of other world travelers especially on Independence Day."
"So we're not supposed to be here is what you're saying."
"Yep." He said popping the "p" and then grinned at her. "But when have we ever followed the rules Rose Tyler? More fun this way."
She held back a chuckle. "And if we get caught?"
"Well, trespassing without proper papers might land you imprisoned for a few days until you can prove why you are on the planet has peaceful means."
"Not too bad, we've had worse."
"...yes but trespassing on Independence Day is a planetary crime worthy of months if not years of imprisonment."
She turned to him quickly, her eyes wide. "Doctor!" She laughed. "Why are we here then?"
"Because it's beautiful! The fireworks sing, Rose! And we should be safe up here. Safe-ish. Maybe. But," he exclaimed loudly, "fun though!"
Rose shook her head with a small scoff. "Alright so if we do get caught...you said we just need the proper papers and stuff yeah? The psychic paper will do?"
He blinked silently, avoiding her gaze. "And just look at the view! You wouldn't get this from down there."
She folded her arms, turning to face him. "Doctor…"
He sighed and looked at her. "You worry too much! We won't get caught. But, um, no the psychic paper will not work. There are very few races who have the psychic ability to see past the psychic paper's ability but this is one of them."
She let out a breath. "So what you're saying is you've landed us on a planet where trespassing is viciously illegal with no way of defending ourselves just to watch some fireworks?"
"Musical fireworks. It's brilliant!"
She shook her head, reaching out to squeeze his arm affectionately. "Doctor I really think you need to redefine your definition of relaxing. Cuz to me it sure isn't threat of imprisonment."
He just grinned. "Day in the life, Rose Tyler. We should be fine up here. The trees hide us. And besides, we wouldn't want to be down there anyway. Too crowded. It's much more private up here."
Rose lifted one brow. "Private? What do we need privacy for?" It was then she was redirected back to the blanket thrown over his arm.
Catching her line of sight, the Doctor smiled and took a few steps back and then shook open the blanket before laying it on the ground.
He looked over to Rose, presenting it proudly and she smiled brightly.
"A picnic under the fireworks?"
She tried to push back the fluttering feeling in her stomach. The Doctor, alien as he was, probably didn't realize how humanly romantic it was. She couldn't begin to hope he did.
"With the best view!" He nodded.
She bit her lip softly and then giggled quietly as she made her way over to the blanket.
She plopped herself down and she was joined a few seconds later by the Doctor who had shed his brown coat and tossed it to the side of him.
He leaned back against his elbows and she noticed then that his suit jacket and shirt had the first few buttons undone and he was even missing the tie revealing just a little bit more of his skin. She realized that was about as relaxed as he was going to get. The Doctor had a thing for layers, in both the bodies she knew him in. Her first Doctor was rarely seen without his leather jacket, even when inside the TARDIS and the same went for this Doctor and his suit jacket buttoned all the way up.
She tried not to stare at the revealed skin and definitely was not thinking about how she'd like to undo just a few more buttons.
She swallowed thickly and quickly averted her gaze, collapsing onto her back and looking up the sky before the Doctor caught her staring.
The colored leaves danced high above her head in the gentle, salty breeze from the beach below.
"What's this planet called?" She asked the Doctor.
"Hm? Oh, I didn't say?"
She turned her head to look back at him and found him staring down at her.
She smirked. "No, you didn't. You mentioned the invaders but not the planet's name or the people."
"Right, sorry about that. Well, the planet's name is Vabnaraum. The people are called Limniotas and the subspecies, the ones who evolved under water, are called Limnio-ti-iotas. Ti is their native word for sea, so after their defeat of the Mokols they were still similar enough to the Limniotas to retain the species name but due to their differences, and the fact that they led the victorious rebellion, the Scientific Council decided to reward them their own specie name. And Vabnaraum is their word for victory. This planet's name, before the invasion, used to be Maskaopan but when the Mokols took over they renamed it to Mokol-35."
Rose scoffed. "What seriously? How original."
"Yes well, all the Mokols did was invade other planets. After awhile it just became easier to name it after themselves than create something original each time."
Rose frowned. "Mokol-35, you said? So they've done this 35 times? 34 other planets were taken over?"
The Doctor nodded. "All over the universe, yeah. And that was a thousand years ago, there are probably more than that now. Some don't last as long as others. Mokol-6 only lasted for 3 years before the natives won it back. They even tried taking over Earth once."
"Did they?" Rose's eyes widened.
The Doctor furrowed his brow. "Or will do. In the year 7,899. Of course you humans fought for your little planet." He grinned. "Oh many have tried taking over Earth but you humans are stubborn and fierce and well, you can invade other planets no problem but God forbid anyone try to take your planet from you. And you know, in the end, the planet's destruction came from its own sun."
Rose nodded solemnly remembering watching her own planet explode in front of her. "And then came New Earth."
"Yep! And all sorts of species live on New Earth and humans, well you remember, Cassandra was the last true human, all others cross bred and expanded all over the universe."
Rose rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry but being a flab of skin does not make you human. Cassandra was more human when she took over the body of that poor genetically made boy if you ask me."
The Doctor chuckled, grinning. "You'll never get over that will you?"
She sat up and shot him a look. "On my first trip into the universe you took me to the day my planet exploded and the last human was a bitchy trampoline and they thought a jukebox was an iPod! I mean where did they even find a jukebox in the year 5 billion!"
She couldn't help but smile as he fell completely onto his back in giddy laughter. She always did love it when the Doctor laughed so joyous and genuine
"Oh you loved it though!" He looked up at her with a grin.
She narrowed her eyes at him for a few seconds and then finally smiled, her tongue poking between her teeth. "Well yeah...our first date. Can't beat that."
The Doctor hummed in agreement but said nothing more but the smile still on his lips told her she hadn't gone too far by yet again calling it a date.
"This is nicer though." She said, now resting back just a little closer to him than she was before. "Scenery wise, at least."
The Doctor smiled wider. "Yeah? Glad you think so. And just wait until you see the fireworks! Colors like you wouldn't believe!"
"You've been here before, have you?"
"Nah! Just heard stories...always wanted to though. Thought it should be with someone special, yeah? If you're going to risk imprisonment to see some fireworks it'd better be with someone you like."
A grin blossomed across her face. She always liked to think she meant something to the Doctor, something more than just his companion so when he spoke about her like that she really believed it .
Rose giggled. "Are you saying you didn't like your other companions?"
His brow shot up and he lifted himself back onto his elbows. "Oh no they were all brilliant but would I want to spend months or years trapped in a cell with them?"
Her heart thundered. "You'd want to spend months or years in a cell with me?"
"Welllllll I wouldn't want to be trapped anywhere but if I had to, yeah I wouldn't mind it being with you."
Rose grinned. "Yeah? Me neither."
He smiled back at her, eyes twinkling in delight. They stared, grinning at each other for a few moments and then it was broken as the Doctor quickly sat up, gently clearing his throat.
"Should start soon." He said as he looked out at the darkening sky and her smile faltered only slightly. The first step into a little more intimacy and the Doctor took a step back from it, just like always but Rose couldn't complain. How could she when she got to experience all of this to begin with? And with a man who definitely enjoyed her presence, perhaps not in the way she wanted but they were friends - good friends and she was content with that for now.
A minute later the Doctor started talking again, going deeper into the planet's history and Rose hung on his every word.
She slowly made her way closer to him to rest her head on his shoulder and though he didn't pause in his speech, he smiled widely and glanced down at her, fully accepting of the touch.
Holding hands, hugging, her head on his shoulder, these were all things Rose was incredibly grateful the Doctor had no trouble with doing.
He talked until the sun completely set beneath the horizon and the first firework was set off, reaching high into the sky and exploding in an array of color and to Rose's utter delight and amazement, music.
The sound climbed the musical scale from low to high as the fireworks launched from the ground into the sky. Then as they exploded with bright, vibrant colors, a swell of beautiful harmonies filled the air and as the colors faded, drifting back down through the air, the music faded along with it.
It started off with just a few fireworks, one going off one right after the other. Then they started to increase in speed and frequency and soon different types of fireworks collided in the sky together, creating a painting in the sky to a beautiful soundtrack of music.
The Doctor turned to watch Rose, her eyes lit up in awe and wonder and his hearts were working double time. This was one of his favorite parts of traveling, getting to show his companion something new, something beautiful and amazing that they never could dream of seeing before. And showing Rose, seeing that smile on her lips, and the joy in her eyes, to see how very happy their travels made her, made him happy beyond anything he thought he could feel after the war.
After a minute of watching her intently, he suddenly jumped up onto his feet. Rose caught the movement and turned to look up at him, her brow furrowing curiously.
He grinned and held out his hand towards her. "Rose Tyler, would you care to dance?"
Her eyes widened for a second and then a breathtaking grin spread across her lips.
She placed her hand in his and he helped her to her feet. "I don't think we've danced since you regenerated." She bit her lip. "Think you've still got the moves?"
He waggled his brow, causing her to giggle. Then she squeaked as he brought one hand to the small of her back and pulled her in closer. "Oh Rose... I definitely still have the moves."
Her free hand rested over his chest and she could feel his hearts beating rapidly against her palm.
He tapped his fingers against her back to the beat of the music of the fireworks and then when the time was right, he grinned and pulled her into a dance.
She squealed at the sudden movement and then laughed once she caught her footing and followed the Doctor's lead.
The Doctor kept perfect time with the music (he was a Time Lord after all) and twirled her around the small clearing.
The grin would not leave his face as Rose's laughter joined the constant melody of the musical fireworks and he made a mental note to dance with Rose more often if he could get her to smile and laugh like that.
They danced in circles all around the clearing, both grinning and laughing, for several minutes.
Then as they circled back towards the blanket, Rose's foot caught on the edge and she tripped.
With a small squeak she started to topple sideways but the Doctor was quick to react and wrapped both his arms around her middle
She grabbed fistfuls of his suit jacket and once she was sure she was steady, she threw her head back and let out a long laugh.
The Doctor eyed her in concern for a moment and then smiled seeing she was alright and laughing.
Their bodies were pressed close together, so close he could feel twitch of her muscles as she laughed heartily.
His breath caught as he took in the sight of her. Her head tilted back, a large grin on her lips, eyes closed and the colors of the fireworks lighting up her pale face.
Slowly her laughter began to fade and she lifted her head, opening her eyes.
She stopped breathing as she caught sight of the Doctor's gaze.
His eyes were locked on hers and his pupils were dilated, making them appear darker.
Her throat went dry and she swallowed thickly, parting her lips slightly to finally take in some air.
It was a rare moment when she and the Doctor were this close in such an intimate way. And when they were, the Doctor always pulled away and then quickly changed the subject.
Rose waited for him to do the same now.
He didn't.
His gaze darted down to her lips and her heart leapt.
He wouldn't….
The Doctor knew he should pull away but Rose was pulling him back in.
His eyes focused on her pink lips, parted ever so slightly and beckoning him in.
His tongue darted out to lick his suddenly dry lips and he started to lean in towards her.
She gasped quietly and he paused just inches from her lips.
Oh he wanted this and he was almost sure there was no going back at this point. He was also fairly sure Rose wanted it as well, he could smell the pheromones on her and feel her rapid heart rate and hear her quickened breathing.
Still, he couldn't risk doing anything she didn't want to do. "Rose…?" Her name left his lips in a whisper.
She whimpered, tightening her grip on him. "Yes." She whispered back, a soft, desperate plea.
His hearts leapt and then his lips were on hers.
She gasped softly, parting her lips slightly as his mouth made contact with hers.
The Doctor's arms tightened around her waist tugging her even closer. Rose felt like her insides were going to melt from the flood of warmth that pooled inside her. She could not believe that this was actually happening. She had a vague memory of Cassandra kissing him using her body but she was locked away inside her own head, she didn't get to really experience what kissing him felt like and it was better than she ever imagined it to be.
They both pulled away several seconds later as the last of the fireworks exploded in the sky with a loud, harmonious sound.
They watched as the last of the colorful sparks fizzled out into the now dark black sky and the crowd below burst into a thunderous applause.
Rose swallowed as she was suddenly aware that she was still pressed up intimately against the Doctor.
She hesitated to look back at him, fearing that the moment would be over and he'd pull away, like he always did and pretend like it never happened.
But how could they, after this? The last kiss she wasn't herself and it could be easily swept under the rug.
This kiss, it was all theirs and Rose knew she would want more of it.
Finally she braved a look back to the Doctor and her breath caught as he looked back at her, meeting her eyes..
His eyes were slightly wide but unreadable and he made no move to run away.
She swallowed again and a small smile twitched at her lips, which then slowly pulled into a shy, sweet smile.
As soon as the smile fully formed her lips, a similar smile spread across his face, reaching all the way to his eyes and that was all Rose needed.
She suddenly leapt at him, throwing her arms around his neck going for his lips again. The force and shock of the impact sent him toppling backwards and they both let out a small shriek as they hit the ground.
The Doctor landed on his back with a groan and Rose landed on top of him, half sprawled over his torso.
Once they got over the initial shock of the fall, they took one glance at each other and burst into laughter.
They laughed for a few good seconds but the Doctor faded off first, quickly becoming acutely aware of Rose's heaving chest pressed against his own.
His hand was at her hip, holding her to him and her shirt had ridden up in the fall so his fingers grazed her bare, hot skin.
It took another few seconds for Rose to realize he had stopped and slowly her laughter faded as she looked down at him.
Her blonde hair fell over her shoulders and the warmth and joy In her eyes, combined with her beaming, beautiful smile on the backdrop if the navy sky and colored treetops made her completely irresistible.
His eyes darkened and he gripped her tighter. She let out a small squeak as he suddenly rolled them over and pressed her into the blanket.
Her widened eyes met his and he grinned down at her, catching her mirrored grin only for a half a second before he swept down to reclaim her lips with his.
Rose let out a pleasured sigh, her hands flying up, threading her fingers through his hair.
A low moan escaped the back of his throat as her fingers caressed his scalp and pulled him closer, deeper against her.
He pressed one hand to the ground beside her head, supporting his weight, which was slowly beginning to feel like jelly as he lost himself to Rose.
Their lips moved together in a natural, tender rhythm. It was heated and passionate but not frenzied as they both took the time to explore and enjoy the feel of a long awaited kiss.
Rose was just beginning to feel the burn at her lungs and the Doctor could feel the first click of his respiratory bypass when they suddenly were stopped by a bright white light shining down upon them and a myriad of distant shouting voices.
The Doctor looked up, alarmed, and squinted against the bright light. He couldn't see anything against the blinding light but he knew what it meant.
He quickly glanced back down to Rose, meeting her own widened, slightly panicked eyes.
Then his lips curled in a mischievous grin and he pushed himself off of her and onto his feet and pulled her up a second later.
They grinned at each other and the Doctor secured his hand around hers. "Run!"
Rose let out a small squeal and grabbed the blanket off the ground before they both raced towards the TARDIS.
As the blue doors shut behind them, the shouting slowly faded and they both were laughing as the Doctor finally released her hand and threw the ship into the vortex.
Once the ship had safely taken off as the constant grind of the time rotors indicated, they both leaned against the console in a deeper, hearty laughter.
"Oh, we won't get caught, he said!" Rose barked in laughter as she grinned at him.
"Oi!" He laughed right back. "We're safe and sound in the TARDIS. We did not get caught, then did we?"
"Almost, Doctor." She teased, her laughter slowly fading but giving him her famous tongue touched smile.
"Almost is the fun stuff, Rose Tyler. Thrill of the chase!" He grinned.
She shook her head affectionately and then took in the sight of him.
She had seen him happy, and this body of his in particular almost always wore a smile, but now he was practically glowing, a big bright smile, a light in his eyes and something more that made her heart flip. He looked thoroughly kissed. His wild hair was in disarray from her fingers' work and his lips were slightly more pink and swollen.
She realized as the Doctor's expression slowly changed that she must have looked exactly the same.
Her smile softened and she bit her lip, tossing the blanket over the railing before taking a few steps closer to him.
His smile slowly faded as he watched her but his expression was still soft.
This was more natural territory, the awkward silence that fell over them whenever they got a little too close. Though what they had done outside was nothing like they had ever done before and the more silent the Doctor was, the more anxious Rose became that he would sink back into that zone of his. The zone where he refused to acknowledge that their was something between them, something a lot more than friendship and companionship and if Rose had ever doubted that her feelings were reciprocated those doubts were long gone. She had never been kissed like that before and she knew it had to mean something.
So she refused to let it just slide past them and let the Doctor act like it never happened.
Her heart was pounding but she knew she had to confront him. "Not that I'm complaining, Doctor, really because that was…," she paused to let out a breath, "brilliant," His lips twitched in a smile and she smiled, knowing he agreed, "but...where did that come from? I mean…" She lifted her shoulders. "Why did you kiss me?"
He stared at her for a few moments, his expression now calmly blank and then he averted his gaze, turning in towards the console.
Rose frowned, already feeling her frustration growing. "Doctor." She prodded and then huffed quietly. "Was it a 'heat of the moment' kind of thing or…"
"No." He answered quickly and her brow shot up. "Well, yes, sort of…" He groaned quietly, rubbing at the back of his neck nervously. "It may have been a heat of the moment action but...the emotions behind it…" He lifted his head, staring at the rhythmic movement of the time rotors and he swallowed thickly. "No." He concluded quietly. "Those weren't new at all."
Her stomach flipped and the smile returned to her lips and she stared at him in disbelief. Did he really just admit to having feelings for her?
Though her heart sank a little when she realized he was still avoiding her gaze. "Okay." She breathed. "Doctor...why aren't you looking at me?"
He visibly winced and bowed his head again and she sighed.
"Doctor, we can't ignore this! It's happened and it was great and...we can't just pretend like it didn't."
"No, we can't." He agreed. "And we shouldn't." He closed his eyes and gripped at the edges of the console.
She swallowed, her face softening and she knew there was some kind of war raging inside his head. "Then what's wrong? You're holding back from me, Doctor, why?"
He sighed quietly. "Do you remember what I told you? About my life span?"
She nodded once. "Yeah, it's longer than mine." Then she remembered something else he had said. "The curse of the Time Lords." She slowly shook her head and then scoffed. "No offense, Doctor, but that's a load of crap."
His head whipped up sharply and dark eyes met hers. "It most certainly is not." He snipped, turning to face her.
"Timelines and ages and life spans, none of that matters to me, Doctor!"
His jaw clenched as his eyes narrowed. "It matters to me. You are not the one who is going to have to watch me die, Rose!"
He snapped his jaw closed and his eyes widened slightly.
Rose's expression softened in realization and then understanding. "That's what this is all about?"
He kept his eyes on her, sad and dark and full of longing and fear.
"Doctor," she breathed and took a few steps closer to him until she was close enough to touch him. She reached out and placed her hand on his wrist and he looked down at it.
"You said you were never going to drop me off like you did with Sarah Jane, yeah?"
He glanced back up at her. "Never." He rasped and she gave him a small smile.
"And I'm never going to choose to leave so what's the difference between going on, traveling about as we have been, or moving forward with whatever this is between us? You're going to lose me, Doctor, we both know that and no matter what we do...it's going to hurt when it happens."
His body tensed as he looked down, his face scrunching up and she squeezed his arm gently. "But don't you think it would hurt more if you also lived with regret?"
He lifted his head and slowly turned to meet her eyes.
"Doctor, with what just happened out there, I don't want to go back to what we were, I don't think I can. If you didn't want this...well, I wouldn't leave you, Doctor, no matter what but...do you really think we can just ignore this?"
His eyes softened. "No." He answered quietly, his lips twitching. "And I don't want to either, Rose, but…"
"But what?" She pressed him gently, imploring him with kind eyes. "Doctor, tell me what you're thinking."
He sighed, his lips twitching into a small, sad smile. "I don't deserve you, Rose."
"What?" She gasped and slipped her hand down into his, entwining their fingers together as she tugged him to look at her. "Of course you do, Doctor. You deserve all the happiness in the universe."
His eyes met hers, brown eyes full of pain, guilt, fear, sadness and sprinkled with tears and her heart broke a little for him. He was filled with such self loathing and he truly believed he didn't deserve her.
It was she who didn't deserve him. He was a wonderful, brilliant, amazing Time Lord and she was just a simple little human. It still amazed her that he would even want to travel with her at all none the less feeling any sort of attraction towards her. But she would do anything to make sure he knew that he was loved - so fully and completely by her.
"Precious girl…" He murmured, bringing his free hand to cup her cheek and she smiled as she leaned into his touch. "You really want a daft, old, alien like me?"
She squeezed his hand in hers and pressed a feather light kiss to his palm. "Of course I do. I always have and I always will."
He let out a shuddering breath at her soft, intimate gesture and swayed his body in just a little closer to hers.
"It doesn't matter to me that we're different species, Doctor. What you and I have is...so much greater and deeper and more real than anything I could ever have with another human."
He sighed again. "You say that now, Rose…."
She frowned. "Wherever am I going to meet anyone like you? There is no one like you Doctor not anywhere and certainly not on Earth. I made my choice back when you still wore leather, had blue eyes and big ears. This is the life I want and I want it with you. If we have to stay just friends than fine but I don't want that Doctor and I don't think you do either if that kiss was anything to go by."
His lips twitched up and she swore his cheeks turned a little pink which caused a little thrill in the pit of her stomach. She didn't even know Time Lords could blush and it was adorable and she made it a silent point to try to make him do it more often.
His thumb brushed lazily across her cheek, sending little tingles down her spine and he smiled softly.
"You are right." He admitted finally, hesitantly. "I do...I do want this, I want...you... I have done for, well...quite a while."
Her heart soared and a grin blossomed across her face at the words she had longed to hear for so long. It was strange to see him stumble over his words and that was how she knew he meant it.
"I know this must be all new for you, Doctor, these human emotions. From what you've told me about Time Lords they didn't really do romance, yeah?"
He nodded in confirmation. "It was discouraged and very frowned upon. They didn't like those kinds of emotions to get in the way and well, I always did rebel against them, stole a TARDIS, ran away, fraternized with Earth and the lives of so many other species and planets...but I never experienced that. Oh, I cared for my companions, every one of them but never in that way. I couldn't...and then you come along," he smiled at her affectionately and she returned it, "All pink and yellow and clever and I was...so broken. You brought me back to life, Rose, I hope you know that. Suddenly you were a bright and shining light in my life and I knew I never wanted to let go of you. I can't bare the thought of losing you, Rose, and you're right...that is why I have held back for so long. I thought putting some distance between us might make it better when the time comes and I know it will. Precious, fleeting human lives...so fragile…" He whispered, looking deep into her eyes.
"Not that fragile." She assured him with a small smile.
"Fragile enough." He muttered darkly, the same darkness passing over his eyes.
She looked into those eyes and tried to convey as much truth and emotion as she could through her gaze. "Alright, so if I die tomorrow, wouldn't you be glad to have the memory of what we just shared? I know I would and we can create hundreds of more memories just like that. Happy memories to get you through the dark times and that's another thing, Doctor. You haven't lost me yet, and we may not know when it's gonna happen, but you shouldn't live thinking and dreading the day that it will. We make each other happy, don't we, Doctor?"
He smiled genuinely and caressed her cheek. "Oh yes. You make me so happy, Rose…"
"And you, me Doctor. I never dreamed I could have this sort of life and feel the way I do...about you. You have to see that what we had was amazing but we can have going forward could be so much greater than that."
He stared at her for a few moments, a hundred different emotions passing through his eyes and she watched him in anticipation.
Then his eyes softened and his smile widened and he took yet another step in closer to her. "You are so incredible, Rose, you know that?"
Her cheeks flamed and she smiled. "I dunno about that but I just want you to see what I see. You see us moving forward as a risk, and yeah, maybe it is, but it's a risk well worth taking for the gains, yeah?"
He eyed her for a long few, silent seconds and then his other hand shot up to gently cup her other cheek and he guided her once again to his mouth.
She smiled against his lips and slid her hands up onto his chest where she felt both his hearts wildly beating.
The kiss was over shortly and she pulled back, her head spinning as she grinned up at him. Her heart skipped a beat when she noticed the look he was giving her, so full of passion and joy and love.
He removed his hands from her cheeks and let them fall at his sides but quickly then reached out to place them on her hips, drawing her in even closer.
"Rose." He started seriously, looking deep into her eyes and her heart stuttered. She didn't know what to expect from him but she hoped the kiss was a good indicator of something good. "If we do this...I fear I won't ever be able to let you go. So I need you to be sure…"
She quickly shook her head and cut him off with another short but passionate kiss.
"You never have to let me go, Doctor." She whispered once they parted and pressed her forehead against his. "I'm yours, forever."
He made a small choking, gasping sound at the back of his throat and then tightly wound his arms around her waist, crushing her body against his and capturing her lips in a searing kiss.
Her arms flung around his neck as she lifted herself onto her toes to press herself deeper into him. He slowly started to back them up until he hit the console and he sat perched there as they eagerly, hungrily, desperately explored each other.
"Forever's a long time, Rose." The Doctor gasped against her mouth in between kisses and she paused long enough to reach up to touch his cheek and smile at him.
"I know and I'm looking forward to every second of it."
"Brilliant." He breathed out before he dove in for her again.
If there was anything the Doctor knew it was that nothing lasted forever and time was not set in stone. He saw an unlimited amount of possible futures laid out before them and Rose's horribly short timeline would sit heavy on him forever but he also knew something else. He wanted Rose Tyler and Rose Tyler wanted him and he was not going to hold back anymore. This day marked their new beginning as something so great and so wonderful. The Doctor and Rose Tyler, in the TARDIS, in love, as it should be.