The Doctor's kiss with Rose, while absolutely brilliant, had been interrupted a bit too soon by that Time Lord dumbo...
Ooh, I wonder how much of Donna I have in this body? he wondered to himself.
Point still stood though, the Doctor really, really wanted to kiss Rose again. However, ever since they had arrived at the Tyler mansion, she had been in her old room. Jackie had informed him that Rose had her own flat, but she sometimes stayed with them.
The Doctor wrestled with himself for a few minutes, as to whether he should go check on her or leave her alone. He debated all the pros and cons of going to her, but finally convinced himself that going to check on her would be alright.
Just to check, though. Not to kiss. Welllll, unless she wanted to, and then he would be more than happy to oblige.
He stood outside her door for a minute listening. He didn't hear any noise from inside and wondered if she might be asleep. He raised his hand to knock softly on the door, but it was suddenly opened and the Doctor took a step back in surprise.
Rose looked up at him, a bit shocked as well it appeared.
"Rose, I, um, I wanted to make sure you were alright." he said, just managing to stop himself from rambling. The last thing he wanted to do was remind her of the series of painful events of the day.
"Oh, I—I'm alright. Just been thinking about everything. Trying to make my little human brain process all that happened today." she said.
She slowly took a step forward and ran a hand down the lapel of his blue suit and a shiver went down his spine. He kept his hands in his pockets, not sure if his touch would be welcome yet, though he almost ached to touch her, to hold her. He was brought out of his musings by the sound of her voice.
"'S gonna take some time to not be shocked every time I see you. That you're really here with me. After all that time, all that searching... I found you again." she said and her hand moved to his face as she studied his eyes.
"Yes, you did." he said with pride. "Rose Tyler, always brilliant, you are." He didn't bother to hide his feelings from her, let her see all the love—which he had kept hidden for so long—shining in his eyes. Her hand was shaking a little when she lowered it to her side.
"Was there something you needed me for?" she asked, her voice a bit shaky.
"Wellll, as I said, just wanted to... check on you. Make sure you were alright." he said, trying for nonchalance.
He evidently failed since she smiled that tongue-touched smile that always drove him insane. In fact, he thought that might be the first real smile he had seen since their reunion—well, interrupted reunion—on a deserted street. He was quite distracted by the sight and dragged his eyes from staring at her mouth when she giggled.
"And by 'check on me' you actually meant you wanted to do more than that, right." she said, breaking through his trance.
"Oh, yes." he said before he could stop himself, making her smile widen and eliciting a full laugh from her.
He smiled brightly back at her.
She stepped forward and wound her arms around his neck, limiting the space between them to mere inches. He slowly brought his hands out of his pockets and placed them lightly on her waist.
They stared at each other for a few long moments, before leaning forward simultaneously. This kiss was not the passionate kiss that they had shared on the beach. This kiss was soft and sweet and chaste and oh, so wonderful.
The Doctor wound his arms around Rose, holding her a little closer. Rose's fingers played with the soft hair at the back of his neck, sending pleasant tingles of sensation all over his body. They pulled back after a long moment and the Doctor rested his forehead against hers. Their breath mingled in the tiny gap between them, and this close to her, he could feel her heart racing.
"I could really use a cuppa." Rose said suddenly, "and I want to make sure mum's alright. After that, we can go somewhere and talk."
The Doctor nodded and took a step back. He didn't want to let go of her completely, so he linked his fingers with hers as they walked down the hall.
He wasn't really sure what the days ahead of them would bring and he knew they still had much to sort out; but for now, feeling Rose's hand securely holding his, the Doctor was content. Rose was here, beside him, holding his hand. In that moment, he knew everything would be alright.
The Doctor and Rose Tyler, the Stuff of Legend, were together again, just as it should be.
Notes: Written for doctorroseprompts on Tumblr for Tentoo's Day. Happy Tentoo's Day! :)