A/N: This is a Secret Santa gift for Aviculae on tumblr
Thank-you to theybecameanimagi (which is both her tumblr and name) for betaing my fic!
Rose darted around into wardrobe room with a big smile on her face. Today, The Doctor was taking her to the largest Christmas ball in the galaxy. Every year, the planet hosted a ball and it had gained quite a reputation. People flocked to it from all over just to experience the festivity.
This had all started the previous night when they were staying up late in the TARDIS library and they had gotten talking about holiday celebrations. Rose had mentioned how much she loved Christmas celebrations (even with the fact that last Christmas had been a bit chaotic after his regeneration).
The Doctor told her that if she loved Christmas celebrations, she would love the ball on Advent IV. This planet went all out, hosting a ball which held room upon room of dancing, holiday food and drink and gifts for every guest.
Now, Rose was trying to find the perfect gown. Her eyes were drawn to some scarlet ball gowns several yards away. One stood out to her immediately, and she knew it was the one. It was a strapless dress with a form fitting bodice. The skit was full and had several layers of fabric all curved and intricately flowing down to the floor.
She took it down and brought it back to her room to put on. Two hours later, she had completed all her makeup, styled her hair and dawned the dress. It looked absolutely stunning on her. Having grown up on the council estate, she was still not used to the gorgeous dresses she wore on a regular basis in her travels with The Doctor.
She slipped on a comfortable pair of heels she was certain she could run in if push came to shove (one could never be too careful while traveling with The Doctor) and headed toward the console room. The Doctor was tinkering with something on the console when she walked in.
When he heard her he looked up and his eyes widened. She saw his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed. "Blimey! You look beautiful!"
Rose grinned back at him, her tongue sticking out slightly. "For a human?" she teased him back.
The Doctor just stayed silent, his eyes on her a moment longer before breaking the spell and darting around the console, steering The TARDIS to land them at the ball.
"Well, aren't you going to change?" she asked him lightly as he directed The TARDIS to land them at their destination.
The Doctor paused for a second to look down "Oi, what's wrong with what I'm wearing anyway?"
Rose rolled her eyes good naturedly. Some things never changed with The Doctor, no matter which regeneration he was in. Besides, the last time he had worn a tux, they had found themselves in a parallel universe in the midst of a cyberman invasion. It wasn't an experience she wanted to repeat anytime soon, especially at a ball which promised to feel almost magical.
The TARDIS materialized and The Doctor offered Rose his arm. Grinning, she accepted and they stepped out of The TARDIS.
They arrived in a coat closet. Just as well, Rose figured. They didn't need to draw any attention to The TARDIS.
When they stepped out of the closet, Rose's jaw dropped as she gasped. They were in a huge room with a high marble ceiling. A large chandelier hung in the middle of the room composed of intricately woven diamonds. For as far as she could see, people were dancing and milling about hundreds of Christmas trees, which were all decked out for the occasion. There were red, green and white garlands on every wall and draped from the ceiling, intermingling with bands of holly.
Everyone she saw seemed to have a smile on their face. There were people from all sorts of different species, all attending this ball. A member of the catkind twirled another alien resembling a lizard around in an intricate dance. Rose wanted to ask The Doctor about the different species of aliens she saw, but not wanting to seem rude, she decided to hold her questions for later. The enormity of it all stunned Rose.
"Shall we?" The Doctor murmured in her ear. His warm breath on such a sensitive area caused Rose's heart rate to increase considerably. Rose allowed him to lead her further into the room.
Around them people laughed as a deep baritone voice in the distance sang "Silver Bells."
The Doctor let go of her arm to offer her a hand "Shall we dance?" he asked.
Rose smiled up at him and grasped his hand and he led her into the crowd of people dancing.
A shiver which had nothing to do with the temperature went down Rose's spine as he rested a hand on her waist and she grasped his shoulder. They stepped into an easy waltz.
Rose couldn't deny how good it felt to be in The Doctor's arms dancing. She knew there was something unspoken between them; there had been for months. Rose found herself desiring more, but for now, she would take what she could get.
As the dance went on she found herself drawing closer to The Doctor and she felt his hand slide along her back as he tightened his grip.
Rose rested her head on his chest and listened to his heartsbeat. She found herself wishing this moment could last forever.
Alas, it wasn't to be. Suddenly the music switched into an upbeat two step and they quickly pulled away from each other, becoming conscious of how close they had come.
The Doctor quickly said something about searching for nibbles and disappeared into the crowd. Rose sighed. Every time it seemed they were getting close to crossing that invisible, yet very present line, The Doctor would run away.
Rose meandered her way through the crowd, so lost in her morose thoughts that she quite literally bumped into someone else.
"Oh, excuse me my lady," a smooth voice intoned.
"Oh sorry!" Rose apologized quickly, looking up at the man she had bumped into.
He was about four inches taller than her with wavy brunette hair and gorgeous brown eyes. He was wearing what looked to be Victorian clothing
He was quite handsome. Rose found herself drawn to his smile. His eyes seemed familiar to her, though she wasn't sure why. She was almost certain she had never seen this man before.
"As I so clumsily bumped into you, may I ask you to dance in recompense?"
Rose smiled. She slightly guiltily thought about The Doctor, off in some other part of the room, or possibly a different room entirely, but then shrugged it off. He was the one who swanned off, and as he did everything he could to avoid making any official declarations, she had every right to dance with whoever she wanted to.
"I'd love to," she told the stranger, giving him a tongue tipped smile.
He led her into a slow waltz, as more enchanting strains of music filled the air. Rose felt like a princess at a royal ball. She had never had the opportunity to experience anything like this before. She hadn't even gotten to attend her prom her final year of school. By that point, she had become pretty involved with Jimmy. He was older and as a result wasn't allowed to come to her prom. Because he wasn't allowed to attend, he convinced her not to go. She still somewhat regretted that decision. Before Rose could become lost in melancholy thoughts, she snapped herself out of it. She was on a planet a million miles from Earth in the arms of a handsome stranger. Who cared about Jimmy Stone?
"So, where are you from my fair lady?" the stranger asked her.
Rose almost blurted out "Earth," but wasn't sure whether technology would allow for travel from earth to this planet in this time period. There were certainly lots of humans mixed amongst other species around her, but she knew that was no guarantee that Earth was a hop skip and a jump away either.
Instead she responded, "Oh, a long way away from here. Me and my friend have been seeing the universe together."
He smiled down at her. "Sounds like my kind of life. I am a long way from home as well. So what's your name?"
"Rose – Rose Tyler" she told him. "Now what's your name?"
He smiled at her "John—John Smith"
Rose chuckled, "Sorry, my friend uses that name as an alias sometimes."
Something strange flickered in his eyes before they quickly became masked again "Oh does he?" John asked lightly.
"Yeah, we tend to find ourselves in situations in which it may not be best to use our actual names."
"Oh? Tell me about them," John prompted her.
Rose told him tamed down stories of some of their travels. Before she knew it, they had danced several dances together.
Rose didn't understand it. She felt a connection with this stranger – John—and didn't quite understand why. It was a connection she had only felt with The Doctor. Somehow this felt like she was betraying the bond she and The Doctor held.
Finally, he led her over to a refreshment table to get something to drink. He handed her a glass of punch before taking some for himself. They meandered their way through a room to the exit to a balcony. Someone, one of the hosts of the event, stopped them and pointed upwards. Rose looked up and murmured "Mistletoe."
A blush stained her cheeks. She found herself wishing she had encountered The Doctor in one of these places, but then again, he probably would have made an excuse and ran away.
"Well, we can't very well argue with tradition can we?" John responded, cutting through her thoughts. "May I?"
Rose debated for a second, but quickly decided there was no harm in a single kiss. "Yeah, okay"
The man gently cupped the back of her head as he leaned in. Rose lightly rested her hands on his chest as his lips met hers.
A rush of heat flowed through her as his lips moved against hers. While the kiss lasted only a moment before he pulled away, she had felt his hearts beating rather quickly in the moment. Wait—hearts? She looked up at him and the information came flooding back from the evening –John Smith, traveler, a long way from home—"Doctor?" she questioned as he pulled away.
Before he could answer, she heard her Doctor calling out her name from a distance. The man smiled at her. "I really have to be going now. While I have on occasion met a future self, usually it's better not to cross timelines. I will have to block this memory out, but it was a pleasure meeting you Rose Tyler, and I look forward to meeting you again."
Then, he was off, leaving Rose standing under the mistletoe. Just then, her Doctor caught up to her. "Where have you been anyway? Been exploring this place. Did you know that there are about 50 rooms in this building all about the size of the main ballroom? You really should come check them out. One has a Christmas tree which reaches the ceiling with ornaments from all over the galaxy. Another is decorated to resemble a winter wonderland. You would love it!"
Finally, he seemed to realize Rose wasn't responding. "You're quiet, what's wrong?"
Rose narrowed her eyes and looked up at him. "Did one of your past regenerations look like he walked out of the Victorian era?"
"Yes, my Eighth regeneration, why? Did you meet him—me here somewhere?"
Suddenly, he seemed to take in his surroundings and she could tell when the memory hit him.
Oh goodness, she thought suddenly becoming quite interested in the ground. I kissed The Doctor. What if he wants to take me home after this? I crossed a line that we have never crossed before. What if this makes things weird?
She felt him put a finger under her chin and lifted her head to make eye contact.
"Mistletoe," he murmured quietly, intimately, so only she could hear him. The way he was speaking, it almost sounded like he wanted to kiss her—again. Then he continued, echoing his earlier words, "May I?"
Rose was helpless to do anything except nod.
He gently cupped the back of her head with one hand and the other he on her lower back. Rose wound her arms around his neck as his lips met hers. Her eyes shut as she responded to his kiss. It started off rather sweet, but quickly grew heated, as years of restrained passion broke free. She felt his tongue brush against her lower lip and she moaned. The Doctor took the advantage to slip his tongue into her mouth and slide it against her own.
Rose had never felt like this kissing anyone before. All she could think about and feel was The Doctor. His hands pressed her body to his own and she couldn't get enough.
Finally a polite "Ahem" from the same host as before broke them apart. They loosened their grips on each other and looked into each other's eyes breathing heavily.
"Sorry to disturb you, but I really must ask that you find a place a bit more private if you wish to continue," the host told them apologetically. Rose glanced at him. He didn't even look embarrassed, as if it were a matter of routine that he broke up couples like The Doctor and Rose. Rose then thought about it further and decided that it probably was. She and The Doctor were probably not the first to get a little carried away under the mistletoe.
"Yeah, sorry," The Doctor apologized, his voice a little lower and more gravelly than normal, showing just how affected by the kiss he was.
"Shall we go?" The Doctor asked Rose, offering her his arm.
Rose nodded, quite readily "Yeah, yeah, let's go."
They made their way toward the TARDIS, barely leaving any space between them. Rose chuckled lightly, and wondered if the host noticed them heading into a coat closet. Oh well, let him think what he wished, she had just snogged The Doctor, and if the looks The Doctor was giving her were anything to judge by, they would be doing a whole lot more than that in the near future.
Several hours later, they were laying beside each other in The Doctor's bed. Rose nestled herself against The Doctor's bare chest beside her.
"So, what happens now Doctor? You're not going to start backpedaling and tryin' to get out of this right? Because, I can't do it. I can't go back from this."
The Doctor looked over, "When I met you, in my Eighth self, I quickly fell for you. I couldn't remember because I couldn't risk a paradox. I met you again when I was in my Ninth regeneration, fresh out of the Time War. I was broken Rose and you made me better. I still stand by my promise I made you months ago, you can spend the rest of your life with me. I love you."
Rose reached over and kissed him deeply "I love you too, Doctor. Forever yeah?"
"Forever," The Doctor repeated.
Then sated, sleepy and incredibly happy, they snuggled together and dozed off.