"I give up! You're impossible," Rose cried, throwing her hands in the air.
The Doctor was all angles, smirk, and leather in the TARDIS console light. "Is that a fact?"
She grinned a little in spite of her earlier anger. "Yes. 'S fact. You're more impossible than impressive, you know that?"
He fake-gasped, clutching a hand to his chest. "Oi! And what are you then, Rose?"
Playful banter aside, her stomach fluttered when he said her name in his thick Northern accent, that deep gruff voice all full of laughter and anger and any emotion in between. "I'm just a silly little ape, aren't I, Doctor?" she asked, fluttering her lashes at him. She was more than a little pleased to note that his ears flushed.
"Ah, but of course Rose. You've got to be, however, the brightest little ape I've met. Well, aside from Dickens, or maybe Einstein, or.."
Rose cut him off, taking the semi-backhanded compliment. "Right then. Thanks," she said, giving him that signature toothy grin with the tongue poking through. His hearts raced when that smile was directly at him and his blood boiled when it was directed at anyone else.
Without thinking, he lurched forward, tall frame fumbling into her. He pulled her into a tight hug which she eagerly returned. His actions had startled her, but not enough that she'd recoil. On impulse, she stood on her tiptoes and pecked his cheek.
Suddenly the Time Lord, who'd been very comfortably pulled flesh against her, was back against the console and walking away, not quite meeting her eye.
He stumbled backwards over the uneven grating and ranted a mile a minute so Rose was lucky she caught anything. "Shouldn't...really no...console...right as rain...engine...boilers...sonic it...still doesn't do wood though...right then...see ya!" was about all she got as he hurriedly fled backwards like an injured animal.
She held her hand in front of her. Breathing into it, she shook her head. Did her breath really smell that bad?
XxXxXxXx
"Wotcher," she greeted him with a smile. He nodded his head to her, his mind clearly elsewhere as he headed to the console.
She was sprawled out on the jumpseat and while he shouldn't have been bothered, this was Rose, and he knew it would take weeks for his dirty mind to release the image of her too-short skirt hiked up and bare legs laid out on full display, all over /his/ jumpseat. In fact, if he hadn't known better, he'd have said she'd planned it, in some crazy attempt to seduce him. If that was the case, well, she definitely wasn't failing.
Rose was, of course, plotting ways to seduce him. She knew he was about as close to asexual as someone could get without being it. His interactions with Jabe and even sometimes herself proved that he did in fact have a thing for the ladies. What she and that tree had in common, however, well, she'd never know.
"Where're we off to now? Should I change, or d'you think my outfit's fine?" She knew the flirty grin was a tad too much but it was just too much fun, and getting far too easy.
He grinned at her in response, apparently over earlier's mishap. She wouldn't bring it up now, but definitely at some point. "Oh Rose Tyler, you'll love it! And nah, you're fine."
She smiled softly, taking in the sight of his eyes all lit up. It was beautiful, seeing him like that. It made him look years younger, and his eyes, which were the only thing that showed his real age, for a moment ceased their cyan smoldering.
"'S'long as I'm with you, I'm sure I will."
His breath caught in his throat as she shifted to look at him, sitting up, suddenly serious. And then his signature too-wide grin stretched into one she'd seen only a precious few times before, when he didn't think she was looking. It was a softer smile that looked so naturally stunning Rose found she didn't ever want him to stop.
"Better with two?"
She nodded, and allowed a small giggle at his words. "Better with two," she affirmed and took his proffered hand up from the chair.
Rose smiled when he didn't let go.
XxXxXxXx
"No, absolutely not...refuse...no...not her no never...can't...not again...I said no!"
The Doctor was talking in fragmented phrases of english and the native tongue of the planet Zykor where they were being held prisoner. At least, that was what she assumed from the parts she could hear and understand, but that could've been the TARDIS translator.
He walked back over to the cobblestone wall cot Rose was seated on. Her legs dangled a good few inches from the ground and when he sat beside her, his almost touched the floor beneath them.
They sat in silence for a few moments before she spoke. She'd never been the patient type. "You gonna tell me what that was about?"
Silence. A resigned sigh. "They're scientists, Rose."
As though that explained everything. "You're going to have to elaborate a bit there, Doctor."
He looked at her and blinked, once, twice. "They're from the far reaches of the outer substream ring in the Nebulando Galaxation. That means they've never had the opportunity to examine creatures like us, humans and Time Lords. Naturally, they've heard of us, because well, you know-"
She cut him off saying, "-we're the stuff of legend."
He smiled softly at that and continued. "Right. That. And so because they're scientists, and believe me Rose I thought this was the whole 'science of love and pursuit of happiness' era and not the whole 'science and picking things apart until we understand them', because they're scientists they see us as lab rats of sorts and want to do ridiculous tests on us."
She stared at him. "Will they..hurt us?"
He shook his head resolutely. "They won't lay a finger on you."
She was momentarily reassured until she realized he didn't say anything about himself.
"Doctor," she said warningly. "Whatever it is you're planning 'ere, snap out of it if you think you're gonna go and be all heroic to save me. It doesn't work like that. We save each other. Stick together. Better with two," she emphasized.
He rolled his eyes. "I'm not leaving ya. I just need to come up with a plan, is all."
She shook her head. "Right. Good. Knew that."
He chuckled at that, that throaty laugh that made her heart palpitate. Not that she'd ever tell him that.
"'Course you did, my silly little ape."
The use of the word 'my' was not lost on Rose and she was about to comment when a guard approached. He was tall and humanoid with half orange, half purple skin that was scaly and snake eyes that practically glittered. From what Rose had seen of Zykor in all of five minutes before the ground beneath them had literally disappeared and they fell Scooby-Doo style, this was a common look among Zykorians. Zykorites? Zykans? Rose made a mental note to ask later.
This time when the Doctor went to talk to the guard, she joined. The Doctor instinctively stepped between her and her jailor, pulling her beside him and grasping her hand. She gave his a squeeze.
"We would like to try a harmless brain scan test. There is only one side effect, and it's only temporary."
The TARDIS translate seemed to be working better. "What kind of brain tests?" Rose asked.
The alien answered her. "Just a temporary temporal brain reflexification with the newly patented Ovahgium technology."
The Doctor further explained, " a brain swap. They want us to temporarily swap brains."
Rose looked shocked. "So, I could see your thoughts and you could see mine?"
The Doctor nodded. "Yeah. It'd be like when I put my hands on your temple to read your mind, only it goes both ways and doesn't need physical contact."
Rose tried to make an intelligent response to that, but she was a bit too preoccupied with certain other thoughts about things she'd wish to find in his head.
"The process will begin immediately." The guard nodded at them both, then left the room.
"So," she started, not meeting his eyes, "will you be able to read my every thought?" She was suddenly very concerned about certain thoughts filtering through her mind.
He shook his head. "Only thoughts as you think them."
She nodded. So, all she had to do was not think about the Doctor, a bed, or... Rose decided that was not at all the line of thinking to follow at the moment.
"How long's this gonna last?"
A few hours at most.
She could hear his voice but his lips weren't moving and it took her a moment to realize that he was talking in her head.
Woah. This is...weird. She somehow sent the image of her smiling to him.
Look at you, getting the hang of this already. He beamed at her, or at least the him in her mind.
XxXxXxXx
Were your people like this? Rose froze. He wasn't supposed to hear that. That was one of her wayward questions. They didn't talk about his past; it was too painful and the rare times they did ended in him walking away or becoming withdrawn and there was a distinct hardness and distance between them after.
He hissed in a breath. Some of them. My people used it only when necessary.
She nodded, surprised he'd bothered to answer at all. I...you weren't supposed to hear that.
You look beautiful when you're mad at me.
Rose's turn to suck in a breath. Another. What?
You said something I wasn't supposed to hear. Now we're even.
She didn't dare look over at him, didn't dare think, didn't dare do more than breathe. In. Out. In. Out.
Well. Thanks, then, she said, and he nodded when she looked over finally.
Right.
Right, she repeated, and immediately felt ridiculous. So, what's the name of these people? Are they Zykorians, Zykorites, or Zykans?
She felt a flood of relief that she'd made a mental note and her subconscious had chosen to remember that.
She could feel his chuckle both beside her and in her mind, and it was altogether an alien feeling, pun intended. Zykorians. Although they'd probably respond to anything-not the brightest lot, the main populace.
But aren't they...scientists? I mean, we're talkin' through our minds. She shook her head and looked over at him in confusion.
He hurriedly suppressed all thoughts of how adorable she looked with her head cocked to the side like that. She already wasn't supposed to hear that bit about her being beautiful when she was angry, not to mention any other time. Yes. The scientists are a sort of elitist group that were accidentally formed when the people were mining the planet for raw materials and inhaled the rocky dust that made the chemicals in their brain change. Add a bit of jiggery pokery, a couple hundred years, and boom, evolution with the scientists at the top of the food chain and the populace.
She nodded; it made sense and related back to all the garbled facts she vaguely recalled from school about Darwin and natural selection coming from an accident or mutation. Oh. So how many scientists are there compared to the rest of 'em then?
He smiled. About 50 scientists, out of, I'd venture...3,000. She nodded beside him, leaning into his side on the seat they'd returned to in the midst of their mind conversation. I wish we'd sit this close all the time.
Rose looked up at him, eyes wide, and his hearts lurched. It was 3.1456 seconds until he could look back at her, not that he was counting or anything. When his gaze met hers, his poor hearts seized again, beating hard against his ribcage because she was looking at him with eyes that could melt every metal in the world, with her eyelids fluttering.
He, in turn, looked up at her through his eyelashes helplessly. He was sure the lust was evident in his eyes, but he couldn't help it. He blinked rapidly as if that would make his love disappear.
She spoke aloud for the first time in what had to be an hour. "Doctor?"
He nodded but didn't answer. He couldn't; his gaze was on her lips, and he was wondering how he hadn't noticed before how very soft they looked.
She tried again, all the while taking note of where his eyes were. "Doctor. What did you mean when you said, when you said you wished we sat that close all the time?"
Rose kept her voice as even as she could, something she was extremely proud of. She wasn't sure why, but she couldn't hear his thoughts right now and somehow that made this silence worse.
"Rose," he said, voice deep and throaty, and oh God, she shouldn't be so turned on just by his voice.
"Rose, I..I need, you." Her heart leapt and she resisted the urge to jump for joy.
As soon as she leaned in to place her lips on his, he recoiled, and she was instantly reminded of earlier in the console room.
"I...I can't. Rose, I," he blinked blearily, like he had just woken up. "What, I...I'm sorry," he said all jumbled, talking into the collar of his jacket.
"Doctor..?" She held her breath, praying to a god she didn't really believe in and some others she definitely didn't. /Please don't say you didn't mean it./ she begged, and she cringed when she realized that he could hear that thought. Then she figured, hell, did it matter anymore anyway?
"Doctor. What's wrong?" she asked, taking her mind off of other things, namely him needing her and the mental images that train of thought led to.
He shook his head as if trying to clear it. She was vaguely aware of the fact that she was holding her breath.
"I...air in here," he shook his head again. "The mental connection, enough to tip me over into my..er...urges." He finished talking and looked down at his shoes.
Rose was still confused. "You mean..er, well...body urges?" She cringed at her wording but it needed to be asked.
He nodded sheepishly at her, hands in his pockets, and that was when she noticed a different, sizable bulge in his pants. How in the bloody hell had she missed that before?
She let herself grin a little, tongue slipping between her teeth on habit. She'd long ago trained for and perfected that smirk in the mirror. "Got a little problem downstairs, then?"
He grimaced, lips in a pout that was turning her on more than she'd have liked to admit, not to mention the size of his downstairs problem. Right. Not thinking about that.
"Can we get out?" she asked him, because he was the Doctor and she'd sooner believe her mum was an alien than the Doctor didn't have a plan, regardless of /that./
"O' course. You distract, and I'll use the sonic."
She grinned at him, and he gave her a sliver of one back. That was better than nothing.
She felt his eyes on her as she made her way to the guards and started talking, taking extra care to sway her hips.
XxXxXxX
"So," she drawled from her perch on his piloting chair, feet up on top of the console. He rolled his eyes at her posture, the fond gaze of his eyes conveying a better representation of his emotions.
"So," he mimicked, not knowing what else to say.
"Are we gonna talk 'bout what 'appened back there, then?"
He sighed. This was something he did not, under any circumstances, want to discuss. His face must've made this point clear, as she rolled her eyes at his embarrassed face.
"Do we have to?" It was funny now, he was several hundred years older, but he was whinging to her like a little kid. Brilliant. As if he wasn't embarrassed enough.
She gave him that irresistible grin, tongue in her teeth. "Yes. I want to know just what...excited you so much."
He groaned, actually groaned. "Rose...you...believe me when I say you don't want to know."
She shook her head, playing the part of the determined mother. She was going to get an answer. There was a quick pause and then she shook her head again, fixing him with a look that clearly read as 'you better bloody spit it out.'
He sighed dramatically. Well. This would be the epitome of awkward. This is why he didn't do domestic.
"Rose. Well, erm, I, um..." he started. She arched one carefully plucked eyebrow. "I thought of you and me in the TARDIS console...and we may have been, erm, undressed."
He brushed his hands on his pant legs, as if that could turn all the awkwardness in the room into dust particles so easily dismissed. He literally could not meet her gaze if he tried, and he certainly wasn't.
"Oh Doctor, really? I hadn't expected you to be the kinky type. Was I bent over the console, then?"
He looked up at her in disbelief, unable to comprehend how casual she'd asked it, like she was asking him to pass the salt or what the name of the planet they were on was.
"Er, yeah. I mean, well, yeah."
She grinned at him, and their gazes locked. He felt like this puny human girl could read his name, his face, the fantasies running through his mind at that moment, and his hearts beating double time samba for her.
"We could..act that out if you'd like?"
The Doctor didn't know he'd moved, had no recollection of that, but as soon as the last syllable was out of her pretty pink lips, she was pressed against one of the coral posts, his lips on hers.
She'd forgotten how to think, how to remember her name or her planet or anything other than him, and shit, this was just a kiss. Although that thought immediately dissipated as his hand went up her shirt, rubbing the contours of her curves. She was immensely grateful she'd thought ahead and worn her best undergarments.
He pulled her to the center of the console and froze, looking almost unsure, all confidence pooling out of him.
"..Rose? What are we doing? We can't do this, I mean, there's the age gap and the fact that I can't provide anything for you except free space travel and not to mention the-"
She shut him up with her lips on his.
After a minute, she pulled away, looking intensely at him. "None of that. If anything, I don't deserve you and I don't bloody care about the age gap. I'm not my mum."
He shivered. "Don't mention your mum now."
She stared at him then burst into laughter.
He shook his head, sobering further. "Rose, I'm..I'm dangerous."
She queried an eyebrow at him. "And the adventures we go on aren't? Doctor, you might be dangerous, but you sure as hell stop dangerous things from hurting me."
He continued, hardly having heard her. "And I'm nine hundred years old and you're just barely an adult and that's one hell of an age gap, as much as you want to dismiss that."
"I told you, I don't bloody care. Besides, you look damn good for nine hundred."
He blushed in his cheeks and ears at the compliment, but he didn't acknowledge her rebuttal otherwise.
"Besides, Rose, I haven't exactly told you my past. I don't deserve you. Not to mention, well," he cut himself off.
"What? Not to mention what?" she asked, prodding him gently.
He sighed before replying. "I, Rose, my people, well, you know I'm slightly psychic. When, er, when my people dance, well, that connection is extended and intensified and so I would see all of your thoughts and you'd see mine. Nothing held back. And, well, that connection wouldn't disappear."
She took a moment, letting his words wash over her. "But... Doctor, why is that a bad thing?"
He stared at her, utterly shocked at the beauty of her. She was just a human, a silly little ape, really, but she was so much more because she saw potential for light where he saw darkness, and where he had fears of infinities, she promised and gave away her own shorter infinity with a soft smile.
"Rose.. I" He swallowed, and cleared his throat. "Rose, I, well, if you want this...there's no going back."
She gave him a look that promised him that infinity, that whispered of forevers, that brushed on the surface of eternity. She reassured him with that single glance, smiling at him, eyes serious and brave and calculated and he swore that he saw a hint of gold shine through, but then he blinked and it was gone and all he saw was his everything, Rose Tyler.
He didn't know how to love her, how to begin to describe to her how much he loved her, so he didn't. The man who could never shut up, who buggered on for hours and talked his way out of countless situations and into even more, knew words weren't enough for right now. Words would come later, but for now, it was action.
Slowly, deliberately, he reached for her, pulling her ever closer to him, his face a mere two centimeters from hers. He gave her time to pull away; she didn't. He touched her cheek, pulling her up to him as he dipped his head down and his eyes fluttered shut, hers following.
Their lips met and Rose saw comets and constellations and an explosion behind her eyelids so bright she gasped into his mouth, but her lips stayed pressed against his own.
He swore he saw the planets bend between them and for once the burning in him was gone, for once the burning of his planet was forgotten, and it was a miracle and a drug all rolled into one and that was his Rose, his pink and yellow alien. She was a reason to live, and a reason to remember the past but to move on from it and she'd never know just how important she was, just how much she'd done to save him.
So, like with the kiss that they'd separated slowly from, she letting in heaving breaths, he resting gently thanks to respiratory bypass, he decided he'd just have to show her. After all, they had forever together.
fin.
AN: hey! I've been told readers get their choice of Doctor to mind-speak with, and they can choose what happens after ;)