It was one of those obscenely perfect moments. The kind written about in dime-store romance novels. The moon was full. The beach was unseasonably warm and the sand cool and soft under her feet. She couldn't have hoped for a more lulling sound than the gentle crash of waves on the beach.
They were somewhere on the east coast of the US. The Doctor explained about the certain type of rocks found here and the unique smell of the Atlantic. Looking around, she appreciated the timelessness of the ocean and the beach. They had a time machine, and she was sure that you could travel back or forward a hundred years, and the beach would look much the same.
He held her hand. It seemed so comfortable. Sure, under the surface, there was a bubble of sexual tension; much like the boiling springs deep under the cool ocean. Just like, in the fact that the chance of that boiling water surfacing was just as unlikely as either the Doctor or herself taking a step toward anything more than friendship.
And yet, here they were. Against all bets.
"Rose?" The Doctor interrupted her introspection.
"Yeah?" Rose looked up into his face. Remembering what he's just said, reality came flooding back.
"I said I love you. I tried really hard not to. It complicates things for me. But I've wasted two years of our time together. I almost lost you at Canary Wharf, and I think it would have forced me into regeneration. A much darker me than my ninth self. Loosing you would be the worst thing that's ever happened to me, and it won't change anything for you to know it."
Rose's breath caught. Tears filled her eyes. The Doctor mistook her relief for pain, and he grimaced. "Of course, this doesn't have to change anything. You don't have to return my feelings, and you know I think you're brilliant regardless." He turned around.
Rose grabbed his shoulder. "You daft alien." And she kissed him. She kissed him with the force of two wasted years, and hundreds of lives they've saved together. She poured all her love and relief into that kiss, making him feel it, rather than hear it. He wrapped his hands around her slender waist and drew her in as he deepened the kiss.
Finally Rose and the Doctor had come together. The Bad Wolf and the Oncoming Storm.