This story was born out of having an idea and dreaming I'd gotten up to write it down. Good thing I actually did in the end. Beta'd by and gifted to D.
Berry Picking
Jack watched Rose as she made her way through the Great Bazaar on Blin-Doss, a tub of pink bubble-gum in her arms, with vendors from all sides offering her deals. He had gotten her the gum on a lark, saying her room on the TARDIS was the same shade and probably just as sticky-sweet, should he be licking the walls? She had laughed and accepted the gift with good humor and it just so happened that she had come to the bazaar chewing some and blew a bubble at one of the first vendor stalls. The vendors had watched, wide-eyed and offered her the skirt she was interested in for three pieces of the sweet. News had traveled fast (the Blin-Dossil were telepathic between themselves, after all), so now the entire bazaar was abuzz and calling out their wares with great enthusiasm. Rose couldn't help but stop at each little cart and strike a deal with the merchant she met there after running back to the TARDIS for her "cash." Now she had the Doctor trailing along with all of her bargains as he made grumpy comments about "women and shopping," but Jack noticed the Time Lord never refused the next package. As Rose haggled with a merchant on the price of a Relpinad spider-silk scarf worth more than ten thousand credits at your average space dock, Jack decided that Rose was like a handful of fresh-picked blueberries—deeply sweet and staining everything and everyone she encountered with her zest for life and sunny disposition. She didn't even notice the change she was making as she went along, but to Jack it was obvious and somehow gave him hope for the human race as a whole and the little family the three of them had created specifically. He smiled as Rose brought the merchant down in price to eleven pieces of gum and handed off the bag to the Doctor, then followed behind as she came to a stall selling exotic scented oils.
X X X
The Doctor snorted as he watched Jack twirl yet another Slarjee across the dance floor of the upscale night club he and Rose had dragged him to. Rose had already called it a night and was in the TARDIS but had begged the Doctor to stay with Jack until he was ready to leave. That meant waiting for the lad to get tired of the endless attention he was getting from humans and aliens alike. If it weren't for his internal time-sense he would have been endlessly looking at his watch as a hint for Jack to wrap it up, but instead he sat watching the drinks and burning with jealousy. He was glaring so hard at the Mevne who had handed Jack a flower (an offer for a night of "dancing") he didn't even see the lad come up to the table for a sip of his drink. He was surprised when Jack asked anxiously, "Did I do something wrong, Doc? You look like you could take on a Cyberman with your bare hands."
The Doctor started and looked up into Jack's sweaty face. The expression on said face was for one instant one of confusion and shame, and just a little hint of fear before Jack pulled himself together and slapped on a smile. He said breezily, "Of course, if you were taking me on you'd have a run for your money. I'm sure you'd fall victim to my obvious charms."
The Doctor had planned on making some snarky, biting remark, but how could he when Jack had looked like that? Did the lad really think he was pushing the Time Lord's buttons? Instead of sarcasm, he looked at Jack with a small smile and replied, "I think you have enough victims on your trophy wall for the evening, lad."
The Doctor was absolutely floored, then, when Jack took his face in his hands, gave him a sensuous kiss and whispered, "Don't let the popularity fool you, Doc—there's only one trophy I'm hunting for tonight."
Jack took a swallow of his Semora Slam and headed back to the dance floor to reel in another partner, but not before he blew the Doctor a kiss.
It was then that the Doctor realized he had been missing something about Jack's personality all along. Jack was like a ripe strawberry, one where the thin skin was sweet and vibrant, while the complex, enticing flavors of the real fruit were on the inside where only a few could appreciate them. Satisfied, the Doctor took a sip of his own drink and waited patiently for Jack to get tired.
X X X
Rose sat on the jump seat in the Console Room half-reading a trashy romance Jack had suggested and half-listening to the two blokes talking about TARDIS maintenance issues that needed to be dealt with the next time they landed on a technologically advanced planet. The Doctor insisted that the ship just needed a few tweaks and newer parts, while Jack argued that she was feeling left out and needed some loving attention without actually replacing anything. Before Rose knew it, the debate had turned into a sparring match, which had turned into a quarrel and finally a real fight. Then Jack had stormed out of the Console Room altogether, yelling about heartless Time Lords who had no idea how to show proper love to anyone or anything. She had caught the look in the Doctor's eyes as Jack left, one of pain and guilt before he ducked back under the TARDIS console muttering something about "stupid apes."
Rose had seen that look in the Time Lord's eyes before. She saw it when they had been on the viewing platform where the Earth had exploded, right before he brought Cassandra back. She had caught it when he was staring down the sights of an energy weapon pointed directly at her. It had showed when the Doctor had been verbally sparring with Blon before she had been turned back into an egg. She had seen it again and again, only to watch it disappear into a manic grin or a sullen glare or a hundred other expressions he tried to hide it behind.
Well, Rose decided, she wasn't going to let that look stay on his face, not today. She tapped his foot and told him, "Leave it for now, Doctor. Let's go get some tea and biscuits."
"I'm right in the middle of—"
Rose used her stern, "I'm not letting this go and you'll do what I say or else" voice, one that worked like a charm every time she used it. "Tea, biscuits, now."
The Doctor came up pouting, but let her lead him to the kitchen.
Rose made a show of rifling through the cupboard looking for the right tea while she tried to gauge the Time Lord's mood so she could know how to proceed. To be honest, the Doctor reminded her of a raspberry bramble—thorns on the outside and globes of different personalities, each with a seed of darkness and pain. Still, in spite of that truth he still had unmistakable sweetness and light within him. He just needed to be reminded of it. Rose smiled to herself as she picked out a tea and a package of biscuits.