Pete and Jackie Tyler's Wedding
This doesn't really have a specific place, other than before the first time Rose is stuck in the parallel world. Disclaimer: Yes, I own BBC, and if you don't believe me, I have my psychic paper credentials if you'd like to see them… not! Yeah, I don't own this, shocker I know. It may seem obvious, but I just came back from a wedding so this storyline stuck out pretty prominently in my mind.
Jackie Tyler would never have a wedding without Rose as a bridesmaid. And if Rose was there, the Doctor refused to be far. The Doctor tugged at the black bowtie snugly knotted around his neck, discomfort obvious on his face.
"Every time I wear this suit something bad happens," he muttered, not realizing Rose was behind him, smiling fondly to herself.
"Well maybe it's time to break that habit," she offered. He jumped slightly, than grinned broadly at her. The grin lost its vitality though as he thought of the impending wedding.
"Rose, this, no offense, is your mother we're talking about. The woman whose slaps would send a Slitheen running to its mummy, if it were still conscious. And, may I remind you, I'm her favorite target for slaps."
"Or kisses," Rose teased, tongue peeking out between her teeth as she giggled at the grimace on his face.
"That is something I never want to be reminded of again," he shuddered. "Let's just get this over with." He offered an arm to her.
"Like a bad cold," Rose took his arm and grinned up at him playfully. "It's alright; it'll all be over soon, poor baby." The Doctor blushed very slightly at the edges of his face and struggled to not tell Rose she smelled lovely tonight.
Instead what slipped out was, "Rose, you look really beautiful."
"Thank you," her accent making it sound like "fank you" only made her more adorable in the Doctor's book. And she blushed accordingly, which only made the Doctor's gentle smile broader and more loving. "So do you."
"I know," they both laughed and left to join the wedding.
The reception afterwards wasn't as bad as Jackie had stressed over; everything went fairly smoothly.
"Still, all in all, not so bad," the Doctor shrugged, joining Rose at the buffet table. "Ooh, look, edible ball bearings!" He grabbed for a yellow cupcake with the silver balls decorating it.
"They're called dragées, not that you'd know," Jackie reprimanded him condescendingly. The Doctor choked on the banana flavored treat, managing to keep most of the food at least in his body, if not in his throat, in his windpipe.
As he coughed and choked, he managed to struggle out, "What is it with you Tyler women? Why must you insist on lowering the possibility of my living a long regeneration when you spring on me like that?" Jackie and Rose only laughed as he brushed aside crumbs of cake from his jacket, scowling to himself. "Definitely bad luck, I'm pitching this thing once and for all." He muttered to himself. "'Least I'm not the one getting married. Not this time, anyways…"
"C'mon, they're about to throw the bouquet!" he heard another bridesmaid shout, and he sighed to himself.
"I still don't understand these earth rituals," he complained to Rose, his arms crossed.
"Of course you wouldn't," Rose rolled her eyes. "Just go back to your ball bearing cakes." And she went to join the bridesmaids' huddle behind the bride. Jackie threw the flowers over her shoulder to a familiar female the Doctor was no longer watching. He was much more preoccupied by the fact that Rose had left a lipstick stain on a napkin, presumably one she had made after reapplying the makeup, and that napkin was now being heavily envied (though he'd never admit it) by the Doctor.
"C'mon, Doctor, the groom's throwing the garter," another of Pete's groomsmen called. With a heavy sigh of indignation, the Doctor covertly tucked away the napkin into his inside pocket and, hands shoved in the pockets of his trousers, he joined the other groomsmen with a raised eyebrow and sarcastic expression that Rose caught and laughed behind her hand about. Although the Doctor saw no point in this, he behaved as expected and expertly caught the garter with a twist on his longer fingers, barely trying. Rose felt her heart thud slightly, as if her rib cage was otherwise empty, in her chest as her grip on the flowers got just a little clammier, though with trepidation or vague excitement she wasn't sure. Even the Doctor couldn't be this thick… he did realize what he'd done, right?
"You touch my daughter and I'll slap you," Jackie suddenly called and the room tittered with light laughter as the Doctor's face went red.
"Aw, c'mon, Jackie, it's just part of the wedding," Pete's groomsmen, much to the Doctor and Rose's dismay/joy, neither were quite sure if it was good or not, convinced Jackie that it was a harmless old ritual. Rose sat in a chair and held her leg out to the Doctor, staring at him with a blandly friendly expression and a smile that made his hearts quiver slightly. He knelt down, the soft fabric of the clingy garter tickling in his palm, as he took up Rose's foot in one hand and slipped the garter over it. Feeling slightly hotter and more uncomfortable by the second, the Doctor eased the garter up her leg. He hesitated at the knee but was quickly encouraged by Rose's brave smile, a beautiful one that matched a glow hidden in her eyes. Her skin was silky smooth and soft under his hands, and both shivered slightly at his touch. His longer slender fingers on her bare skin felt like nothing she'd ever experienced before, and she wondered what they would feel like, say, somewhere much higher… She was blushing again; she knew it when heat enveloped her face and neck. The Doctor had the garter at least four inches above her knee when he had to stop, due to Jackie's eyes burning in the back of his neck and Rose's flush which, he assumed, meant he had gone far enough. Quickly scrambling to his feet, he cleared away the embarrassment with a retreat to the buffet bar again, red to the roots of his hair and wishing he had never caught that garter, but feeling slightly sick at the thought of another man doing the same thing to his Rose. Rose, he meant, just Rose. She would never be his Rose because… she just couldn't. They were just friends, anyways, best of friends. In fact, once they were back on the TARDIS, they'd probably be laughing about this. Though he'd rather be doing other things with her than laughing on the TARDIS, but he quickly retrieved his mind from all that daydreaming nonsense. Besides, she probably didn't see him as anything more than a good friend, sometimes a bit awkward friendship, but just friends. It was always going to be a platonic relationship. And his hearts felt heavy at that.
"You alright?" a voice cut through his rambling inwardly-set pep talk, which did nothing in the way of pepping him when Rose's worried brown eyes stared so hard into his.
"Fine, I'm fine," he said brightly, completely aware she knew he didn't feel fine, rather as if herds of elephants genetically mutated to have butterfly-wings were leaping about in his stomach. But she didn't push it, which was another reason why he lov- no. He didn't love her other than as a friend. And he couldn't think of her as anything else. "Did I mention ball bearing cake? Quite brilliant, really, and banana flavored too… good source of potassium that, have I said that before? Sounds familiar. Bananas are good, though."
"Well if you're alright then," she smiled slightly in the corner of her mouth. "Do you remember how to dance still?"
"'Course I know how to dance," the Doctor scoffed. "I mean, who doesn't? What sort of… why? Oh no, Rose Tyler, you are not dragging me into something else your mother will slap me for…"
"C'mon," Rose laughed, holding a hand out. "She went upstairs with… Dad, I suppose. He's my dad now, isn't he?"
"Yeah I suppose,"
"Yeah you'll dance or yeah he's my dad?"
"Why not both?" he took Rose's hand in his and she led them onto the dance floor, but he took it from there.
"And I was expecting something less close," Rose breathed slightly, not minding in the least the slow song that required only a gentle sway, most partners holding each other like it was the end of the world. The Doctor could smell the jasmine and flowers in her hair and only made a noncommittal sigh in his chest as her breath floated past his ear in a warm cloud. Rose felt it reverberate through her and lay her head on his shoulder, eyes closed, as he drank in her smell and the way her heart beat against his. Because too soon, he felt, she would be gone. And he would no longer have her hand holding his, her beautiful smile guiding him through, nor the way she looked at him at the end of an adventure, eyes gleaming and lips parted to say something that she never quite said, but rather he had to translate to know. And he hoped he had it right, or his hearts would simply shatter. His grip on her tightened ever so slightly, as if to reassure both of them that he'd never let her go, but both of them knew how it would be. And neither enjoyed the eventual outcome.
The dark, cool night refreshed Rose's murky thoughts, clouded with the Doctor's voice and face. She couldn't keep her mind off him, especially after her mother had come downstairs again and they had to separate hurriedly, or risk the wrath of a hasty mother. Looking up into the starry sky, she found herself longing for when she and the Doctor could be gone again, off to the next galaxy. But she soon realized it wasn't the stars she missed, rather, the one who gave them to her, and she missed having him to herself. But she knew he couldn't think of her like that. Even when he had blushed putting the garter on her, he was embarrassed for his friend, not that he liked her or anything. Not that that dance meant anything, he'd danced with her before, though not so close, he still danced. He just was… a big hugger, Rose decided. He was very physical, her Doctor. She flushed quickly upon thinking this when two thoughts came quickly to her: he was not her Doctor and nothing would ever make him hers, and physical made her think of him being physical with her in a far less platonic way.
"Thinking busy thoughts?" Pete came up behind her, a smile on his face.
"Yeah, I s'pose," Rose paused. "Did, uh, Mum see…?"
"I managed to keep her away long enough," he glanced down at his new daughter with a smile. "I don't think so. I'm sure the Doctor would be running by now if she'd found out."
"Yeah," Rose laughed, imaging it. "He's pretty terrified of her."
"A healthy fear, too," Pete chuckled. "Still, that's Jackie for you. And she's just a bit overprotective, better overprotective than too lenient, right?"
"We're just friends," Rose had the need to blurt this out.
"Of course," Pete commented, not sounding really convinced.
"We are,"
"I'm sure; you've never lied to me before."
"Than why do you sound so disbelieving?"
"Because I believe that you think you're doing your best," Pete said honestly. "But the heart's a fickle thing. I just want you to be careful, alright?"
"Yeah," Rose echoed, eyes wandering back to the party inside. "Y'know, I'd better make sure that he's not… well… sonc'ing… something. Thanks, Dad." The title slipped out with hardly a thought as she dashed back to the reception, but Pete smiled fondly at it, knowing he had said the right thing for once.
"Can you believe, I mean, forty-thousand bananas growing on top of what used to be a sonic factory," the Doctor insisted, his voice thick with drink as the groomsmen and anyone nearby stared oddly at him. "I mean, I've heard of luck but still…!"
"Doctor, are you drunk?" Rose questioned dubiously with a hint of amusement.
"So what if I am?" he shot back, a grin across his face, lopsided as his cow-licked hair stuck up in such odd angles Rose's fingers tingled at her sides to run through them. He stood shakily and took her hand to keep form stumbling. "Never realized how strong some human drinks can be…" he blinked almost sleepily, eyes refocusing, but still dilated with alcohol. "Just hit you like a… like a… like a big… thing… y'know…." He waved his hand in circular motion, frowning slightly, as if he were trying to think of a certain alluding word. Then he latched his eyes back on Rose and his mouth unfolded in a broad, silly grin. "You have a pretty mouth, Rose."
"Doctor, are you al-…?" Rose was suddenly captured by a scent of musky freshness as his mouth met hers. Shock rooted her to the spot, but it was quickly replaced by a fierce hunger for him, all of him. She felt his tongue pressed against her lips and allowed entry. She could taste the last remnants of alcohol on his tongue, but also a soft banana flavor of those cakes he enjoyed possibly too much. She was very aware of one of his hands stroking her hair, running long fingers through it as his nose brushed hers, bright brown eyes danced like fire-lights back at hers. Then she had her hands in his hair, twisting and toying with the strands of hair dreamily, not able to believe she was touching it so easily without rebuke or sharp embarrassment stabbing her mind. He drew Rose closer, one hand searching in her hair and the other tightly clutching her body to his, claiming her to him only. Their tongues danced in their mouths, fiery and playful in drawing the other in, and then darting out to get a taste of the other mouth. Rose moaned his name into his mouth, eliciting a slight giggle in the back of his throat and they both broke apart, gasping for air and grinning like idiots. The Doctor's head was still muddled by alcohol, but he knew one thing in his drunken stupor. He loved Rose, and he didn't want to regret anything about her when she left. And he couldn't see why he hadn't seen it sooner, that they ought to live as if every day was their last, and he had been pushing her away from him, he had been causing their separation. And now he wanted nothing except to build a bridge back to her again and cross over the gap between them. Rose had the same thing in mind, and their lips crashed back together again, even more heated them before, and not at all recognizing the fact that they were practically in the center of the reception, snogging the other's face off. Everyone was watching, and no one was shocked, but certainly one would have a word, or several hundred, to say about it.
"ROSE MARION TYLER!" Echoed across the reception hall and Rose froze, hand unbuttoning the Doctor's shirt. Suddenly, she realized what she was doing, who had shouted, and the fact that the Doctor was now completely sober. Jackie Tyler's voice tended to have that effect when you have been caught snogging her daughter. The Doctor wrapped his hand around Rose's and whispered one word in her ear, just one.
"Run." At his breathless whisper, Rose turned and they both pelted into the night, laughing and grinning as they scrambled with the TARDIS key.
"Hurry, hurry," Rose pled, laughing hysterically as tears of joy rolled down her face.
"With Jackie Tyler behind me that's all I can do," he replied, laughing as well, but voice lilting high enough to show a tad bit of genuine fear. He flung open the door and ran in, quickly followed by Rose, and the door was slammed shut as they began their next journey. But not before a good relaxing read in the Library, curled up in front of a cozy fire, mostly telling each other how much they loved each other and kissing most erotically. Somehow, they both managed through the night with the same clothing on the right parts of them. However, they never got further than that leather chair they both sat in, falling asleep in each others arms.
"Rose Tyler, I love you," the Doctor breathed, his eyes heavy with sleep.
"My Doctor," Rose laughed slightly. "I love you too." He bent in for a final kiss, but she'd already fallen asleep against his chest, her milky breath soft on his neck. He reclined his head back, his eyes succumbing, and sleep overtook them both.