Disclaimer: I own Malaca. =D ...But nothing else.
A/N: I've wanted to use this place (Malaca) for ages. Enjoy!
The Burning Malaca Skies
"So, Rose Tyler!" the Doctor shouted energetically the second Rose entered the console room. "Where to?" Rose opened her mouth to speak, but the Doctor had already started to punch in co-ordinates. "I know just the place!"
"You okay?" Rose smiled anxiously, remembering her plan but trying to act normal. "You look a bit... weird."
The Doctor looked up at her in mock offence. "That's charming." he joked with a grin.
Rose smiled again. "No, I just mean... different. You look different."
"Different in a good way, I - Whoa!" the Doctor was cut off mid-sentence as the TARDIS was sent crashing to the ground with a thud.
"Not too bumpy, then?" Rose said with raised eyebrows as she heaved herself up off the floor. The Doctor offered his hand to her, and she took it gratefully.
"Right then, here we are!" the Doctor said enthusiastically as he shrugged his coat on and passed Rose hers. "You'll need this." he added, and she took it, frowning.
"Where are we?" she asked as he bounded towards the doors.
"You're gonna love this." the Doctor grinned slyly, resting a hand on the door and turning to face Rose. She reached his side and grinned back in anticipation.
"You know when you're a kid, and you see a shooting star, and you think it's the most incredible thing in the entire Universe?" he asked her slowly.
"Yeah..." Rose answered through her smile, almost bouncing up and down with excitement.
"Now see the real thing." The Doctor replied, and pushed the door open with one hand. Rose stepped out into the darkness outside, wrapping her coat around her, and looked straight up into the sky. Her grin fell and was replaced by a perfect 'o' shape as she gazed upwards in wonder.
The Doctor exited the TARDIS and pulled the door shut, and Rose moved with him as he walked over to a kiosk-like area, not taking her eyes off the sky.
Above her, solitary sparks of multicoloured light bounded across the black canvas of the night. Diamond-like dots shot across the sky in every colour imaginable, creating patterns of light across the blackness of midnight.
"It's... beautiful." she breathed, and looked down at the Doctor. She realised they were already walking. Looking behind her, she saw a wooden hut, a booth, where they had come from, the TARDIS just out of sight. The place, though pitch black in the sky and with no visible lights, was fairly bright, and when she looked down she discovered the reason. A thick blanket of snow covered the ground, showing her footprints merging with the Doctor's as they walked along the white path. The Doctor took her hand and led her off to the right, where the snow seemed to stop suddenly.
"Wow." Rose sighed, looking out at the sight in front of her. A gentle slope of grass, covered with other people - human and non-human - lay ahead, all gazing up at the sky to watch the stars.
"Yeah." the Doctor agreed. Rose looked across at hm and smiled, her tongue poking out between her teeth cheekily as he grinned back.
"Where are we?" she ventured as they walked across the grass slowly.
The Doctor sighed contentedly. "The Burning Skies of Malaca." he informed her proudly.
"Seriously?" Rose asked. The Doctor stopped abruptly and sat down, and Rose followed his example, making a face as the damp grass squelched under her.
"Yes, seriously." he said, indignant. "The skies are literally burning. Those stars -" he indicated towards the stars in the sky and Rose looked back up at them, "- are particles of dust and gas reacting in the atmosphere. The planet of Malaca uses fusion-hydraulics to power... but never mind that." he finished lamely, staring back into the sky. "The dust and gas that's produced by the planet burns up as soon as it reaches the Mesosphere, and that's what we're watching. Those lumps of rock will fall to the ground, and the planet'll reuse them to get power."
"Recycling." Rose suggested with a smile, and the Doctor nodded.
The two travellers leaned back in the grass and stared up at the dazzling display of lights above them.
"But It's beautiful." Rose repeated after a moment, and the Doctor remained gazing up at the stars, sneaking a sideways glance at her as her eyes traced the patterns made by the falling rocks.
For how long the two travellers lay there in the grass, neither knew. After a time, Rose tore her eyes away from the ever-appearing colours and twisted her body towards the Doctor. She propped her head up on her hand, and the Doctor mimicked her actions comfortably.
"Doctor," she began firmly, though somewhat nervously, "Why are we here?"
The Doctor frowned and swallowed, "Well, because I thought it would be a nice place to go." he told her happily.
"But, you were all 'adventure and excitement' yesterday. Well, not 'yesterday' exactly, but you know what I mean." she amended hastily, "What made you decide to come here instead?"
"Oh, just... something I was thinking about." the Doctor waved away the question with a smile.
"What were you thinking about?" Rose ventured.
"Doesn't matter." the Doctor said casually, and Rose attempted a nod, "Glad we came though. You're right, it is beautiful."
Rose nodded again wordlessly, then slumped back down on the dampened grass beneath her. The Doctor paused, then did the same, and a second later, his hand found hers. She gulped.
'This is gonna be harder than I thought it would be...' she thought to herself, remembering her vow to get over the Doctor from the previous night. Carefully, she tried to casually pull her hand from his, and he let go immediately. Not wanting to hurt his feelings, Rose rubbed her hands together and wrapped them around her body pointedly.
"You're cold." the Doctor noted, sitting up and shrugging his coat off, "Here." he offered the coat to her, and she sat up reluctantly, but she flinched away when he attempted to wrap it around her.
"Rose?" the Doctor frowned, "You okay?"
"Yeah!" Rose said, faking a smile, but she could tell the Doctor didn't believe her. He pulled his coat back on, still watching her curiously. She lay down, trying to look casual, and the Doctor rested his elbow on the grass and leaned on his hand to watch her. Ignoring the fact that his hearts were - for some bizarre reason - racing, the Doctor swallowed and opened his mouth to speak, remembering distinctly the exact words he had used on their second adventure.
"I'm so glad I met you." he whispered, taking a chance and hoping for the best. Rose avoid his eyes.
"Me too." she said quietly, "I mean, the things I've seen..." she added carefully, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. 'Although,' she thought guiltily, 'It wouldn't be the 'wrong' idea at all.'
The Doctor nodded slowly.
"I - I miss mum though. Sometimes." Rose said hastily, trying her best to push the Doctor away to a reasonable level of friendship, "And Mickey. He was great."
"Yeah..." the Doctor agreed softly, "Yeah, he was."
Rose suppressed a smile as she detected a hint of bitterness in the Doctor's voice. 'It's working!' she thought with relief.
"I am sorry." the Doctor continued, "I never said, but I am. About Mickey. I never meant for you to lose someone - anyone."
Rose's face fell. 'What?' she questioned herself, confused, 'He's supposed to be offended, not guilty and comforting!'
She didn't reply. After a pause, she sat up, suddenly too wired up and confused to lie in the grass and watch the beautiful meteors in the sky.
"Maybe we should go." she began, "I'm freezing."
The Doctor's eyebrows shot up with surprise. "Oh," he said, taken aback, and he sat up straight, "Well, if you want."
Rose stood up, and the Doctor did so too, but she edged away as he moved over to take her hand. He walked away awkwardly, and Rose let out a guilty sigh as she followed. She cringed as he stepped away, looking down, feeling like she'd rather the ground would swallow her up than cause the Doctor to think she didn't like him.
They trudged across the snow, their footprints this time separate, and returned to the booth briefly before entering the TARDIS together. Rose quickly mumbled something about feeling ill, and excused herself to her bedroom, leaving the Doctor to stand, hands in pockets, in the middle of the console room, with an expression of curiosity plain on his face.
It was moments before he felt he could speak, and when he did so, he voiced his only thoughts in a whisper. "What just happened?"
A/N: What will happen next? Review to find out.
