"I thought we could do a bit of shopping today," Donna said, over breakfast.
"Shopping? Brilliant! There's this wonderful little market on the fourth moon of Antares Three. They make jewelry out of the native rock crystals that you wouldn't believe," the Doctor said, through a mouthful of toast.
"Maybe tomorrow. Today I was thinking more like London. That suit you like so much is falling to bits, and you need a new tuxedo." Donna looked at him over the rim of her coffee cup, eyebrows raised.
He froze, the hand holding his toast halfway between his plate and his mouth. "What? But – I don't want a new suit."
Donna set her cup down slowly. "Look, you can buy ten more suits all the same as the one you have if you want to, but that one is has seen better days. And you said yourself you needed a new tux. It won't take long."
He put his toast down. "Well, I mean – no one – that is, I hadn't thought—"
"Good, that's sorted. Don't forget you'll need money. I'll go get the lists. We might as well get some milk while we're there." She left the kitchen before he could come up with a good reason not to go.
She pulled him through the door to the shop and took a quick look around. "Yes, this will do nicely." She turned to the Doctor. "See, all sorts of nice suits. Lots of pinstripes. You should feel right at home."
A shop assistant approached them. "Is there something I can help you find?" he asked.
The Doctor looked beseechingly at Donna. She kept hold of his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. She answered, "Yes, please. We'd like to see what you have in a brown pinstripe. And also blue pinstripe," she added, thinking of his other favourite suit. "Oh, and a tuxedo."
The assistant nodded and gestured for them to follow. "Yes, right this way. I'm sure we'll have exactly what you are looking for."
The Doctor soon relaxed, seeming to realize that the new clothes were not going to be that much of a change. Donna thought she saw him eyeing the shop dummies suspiciously, but that had to be her imagination. The shop assistant soon had him in a dressing room with a few options in brown and blue, as well as a few tuxedos.
He soon emerged in one of the brown pinstripes. It would need a bit of tailoring to fit his thin frame, but Donna pronounced it acceptable. They had similar success with a blue suit. Finally the Doctor emerged wearing a tuxedo, and Donna caught her breath. She hadn't seen him in anything so formal before, and he looked somehow different to her.
"Well," Donna said, at a loss for words.
"Well, what do you think?" he asked, with a grin. He turned to look at himself in the mirror behind him, putting on his glasses.
Donna couldn't resist, and stepped up behind him, running her hands over his shoulders and down his arms on the pretext of smoothing the fabric. She peered around his arm at his reflection, meeting his eyes in the mirror. "Not bad," she replied, with a wink and a grin.
He turned around, staying very close to her. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Am I right in thinking this tuxedo will bring me better luck?"
"Oh, yes, I think so," Donna said softly.
The shop assistant emerged from the back. "It'll only take a few hours for the tailoring. Will you be back today to pick them up?"
Donna stepped back, and nodded. "Yes, later today." She looked back at the Doctor, a gleam in her eye. "Now, it's your turn to wait while I try on a few things in the shop next door."
He raised his eyebrows, "Fair enough."
Donna could hear him pacing outside of the dressing room.
"Donna? How much longer?"
"Patience! I just want to try on a few more things. Then we can go do the food shop." She looked critically in the mirror. No, this one wouldn't do at all. She was about to pull the top over her head when she was startled by the Doctor popping his head through the curtain that served as the door.
"What did you say?" he asked.
"I said, a few more minutes. Now wait out there and let me finish!"
Instead, he stepped fully into the room, pulling the curtain closed behind him. She knew that look in his eye. She said, "You're going to get us thrown out of the store."
He grinned, and stepped toward her, putting his hands on her shoulders and pushing her gently back against the mirror. He leaned down and said, "You look beautiful in that color."
"Don't be silly –it doesn't suit me at all," she whispered. She could feel his breath on her cheek has he leaned in to kiss her. She put her arms around him, and he ran his hands over her collarbone and down her arms, before encircling her waist. They broke apart when they heard the shop girl outside. Donna pushed him through the curtain. "Just let me get dressed, and we can get out of here," she said, a bit breathless.
He stuck his head back in, "We still have to do the food shop."
"Who needs milk, anyway," she said. "Go on, go get your suits so we can leave as soon as I've paid here." She made shooing motions with her hands.
He grinned and obeyed. They soon agreed that the new tux definitely brought better luck than the old one ever had.