Written for Karu, whose adorable artwork inspired this piece. Beta'ed by Silver, who's a great sounding board and doesn't mind me emailing her at odd hours for beta requests :D Thanks dear!
When they first met, he played the recorder and she was a singer at a small nightclub on Plicea, a pretty pink-and-yellow thing with a voice like honey and starfire in her eyes. She helped him break a bi-harmonic lock that stopped a doomsday device and, after that, they performed a duet for the grateful monarchs. He asked her to join him and she agreed, so long as she could say goodbye to her parents.
(he held her hand as she stood over their graves and helped her plant a small goldenwood sapling that would still be there hundreds of years from then.)
She managed to escape the prison the Time Lords had locked her in and held him as he recovered from his regeneration, mourning the cripplement of his TARDIS along with him and promising that the stars were wherever he was, on Earth or otherwise.
She was best friends with Liz and Jo, conspired with Sarah Jane, and when his exile on Earth became too stifling she'd remind him of the adventure that could be found on one planet. She nearly died saving him from radiation, and when she woke to see him with a new face, she merely chided him for going through his regenerations so quickly.
(He didn't tell her how close to death she had been, nor did she ask; her hair would grow back, her muscles would regain their strength, and she still had her voice; though he only sang when he knew no one else was around, their voices still complementing each other.)
For their first trip in their restored TARDIS, he took her to a health spa in the seventy-second century where she spent a week getting pampered, and by the time it's over her hair was once again long and golden and she was able to run with him again. Sarah Jane teased her and said that he wasn't the same without her there, but she merely laughed and tugged him towards a cafe where they ordered everything on the menu to see what his new taste buds preferred.
Sarah Jane inevitably wandered off after getting a firm reassurance that the world was perfectly safe, so they were left to their own devices. "So, Doctor," she asked, "What else does this world have to offer, beyond excellent spas?"
He threw some money down on the table before pulling her after him. "Rose Tyler, I was afraid you'd never ask!"
She was led to a bustling market place, and she nearly leapt with glee. "Oh, it's been ages since I've been shopping!" she exclaimed. This time she tugged him after her, moving from food stalls to jewelry stalls and stopping at a hat stall. "What do you think?" she asked, picking up an overly flowery thing with the local equivalent of a bee perched on one flower.
"Ridiculous," he said immediately.
"Says the man with the forty foot long scarf," Rose replied, picking up a pink and white bonnet. She tied the ribbons and fluttered her eyelashes demurely.
He shook his head, then selected a knitted cap with rubber ducks on it. "Here, this'll suit you better, I should think," he smirked.
Rose laughed and squirmed away from him as he tried to place it on her head. "No thanks, mister! That's for babies!"
"You still are one in my culture," he laughed, but finally let her grab it and fling it away, much to the consternation of the vendor. They sheepishly apologized and rummaged around with a much more subdued air.
At least until she came up with a large, floppy brown hat decorated with brown silk. She grinned. "It suits you," she proclaimed and promptly stuck it over his curls.
He eyed himself critically in the mirror. "Well, I've had worse."
She smacked his shoulder. "Fine, fine, if you insist," he grumbled, but couldn't hide his small smile. Rose wasn't fooled by his indifferent air and paid the vendor for the asking price, not even bothering to haggle.
Almost immediately afterwards she snatched it off his head. "I paid for it." She defended when he gave her an affronted look.
"Well, you just gave it to me! So that technically makes it mine!"
"Now who's being the baby?" She quipped and he grumbled a bit before giving in. She knew him far too well and he should've known she'd find a way to get back at him.
After a few more hours of shopping and a light dinner, they were settled on a hilltop to watch the sunset. He had procured a bag of jelly babies from somewhere in his pocket and they were sharing them when Rose wrapped herself up with his scarf, complaining about the brisk breeze that had sprung up. He smiled at her, relieved beyond belief to see her healthy again.
"I've missed this," she sighed, as the sky erupted into greens and yellows. "I mean, Earth was alien and all, but it was too much like Plicea, you know? This…" she hummed and beamed at him, "This is why I love travelling with you."
His hearts beat a little faster at her innocent language. "Should have known you were only with me for the hitchhiking," he grumbled.
"You know what I mean!" She laughed, scooching closer to him and burrowing herself into his side. He hesitated only slightly before wrapping his arm around her, a move that had been natural since they had first met. Still, up until that moment he was still quite worried that she wouldn't like him. "Thank you, Doctor. You… You're the greatest thing to ever happen to me."
It wasn't the first time she had said something like that, nor, he suspected, would it be the last. He simply held her closer and drew comfort from her warmth. "You're mistaken, Rose. I'm quite convinced that you are mine."
She giggled, giving him that tongue-touched smile. "Forever, yeah?" she asked, echoing a promise she had given him years ago, when he had confessed to her, in a vulnerable moment, that he worried she would leave him because he could no longer give him the stars.
"Forever." he agreed, and they watched the sun set in contented silence.