Finally, a longer chapter! Not many left after this, I'd take a guess at three. Perhaps two.
Chapter summary: This really isn't fair.
Rose left the shower room tiredly, one towel wrapped tight around her body and another slung over her shoulders to catch the wayward drips that fell from her damp hair. Artificial morning light hit her from all angles (courtesy of the TARDIS), brighter than before, and she guessed she'd been occupied for at least forty-five minutes. Suppressing a groan of frustration, she slipped quietly down the hall and into her room, no more satisfied than when she last left it. Where visions of the Doctor had helped her before in that department, now they just reminded her of what she could be missing.
As though on cue, she heard a clatter in the control room, followed by whistling of a horribly cheerful manner. Wondering vaguely what her companion had planned for the day, and whether or not she was going to benefit more from staying in the TARDIS, Rose set about finding some clothes.
---
"There you are! Took your time." The Doctor grinned at her when she met him at the control panel. She shrugged.
"Had a bit've a sleep-in, I guess."
He watched her for the briefest of moments, an eyebrow tweaking, before bouncing away, flicking switches here and there, making the TARDIS twitter and clang in response. Rose felt the floor beneath her feet sway, the feeling of defying time and space all too familiar.
"Where are we going, then?" She smiled, her earlier predicament forgotten. "Or should I say, who's gonna be tryin' to kill us this morning?" She immediately felt more enthusiastic toward adventure, welcome for any distraction from the dreams. Hell, maybe running for her life would do her some good.
The Doctor beamed, and shook his head. "Nowhere dangerous today, Rose." He announced. "Today, we're going to have ice cream. Well, I suppose that's what you'd call it. Probably the closest Earth comparison. "Frozen gelatinous dairy product flavoured with various plant essences" doesn't quite have the same ring to it, I dunno." He added as an afterthought, stroking a dial on the panel.
"Anyway, we're going to the planet Nok'kna in the Tjor'jakkar Galaxy, about three thousand years into your future. Lovely people, the Nok'knans, very simple. Their planet consists mostly of deserts and scorching temperatures, so what's their global foodstuff? Ice cream, can you believe it? Quite funny how they invented it, actually, very much by mistake. Their milking creatures have quite a fascinating digestive... actually, it's probably better if you don't know about that."
Rose laughed when he stopped for breath, enjoying his excitement. "So, that's it? These Nokkinanas-"
"Nok'knans."
"-Nok'knans make brilliant ice cream, so we're gonna pop in, grab a couple tubs and say "cheerio, then"?"
She saw a smirk flash briefly across his face, before he turned back to the panel. "Pretty much. I've had a craving for it since I woke up this morning. Dreamt about eating it last night. Do you ever get those dreams?" His eyes flickered to hers. "You know, you dream about eating, or doing, something, and then you wake up the next morning desperately wanting it?" He shrugged casually. "I woke up wanting Nok'knanian Pattesh."
Rose swallowed thickly, feeling a blush creep into her cheeks. "N-no, not really. I mean, not enough for me to wake up and... travel halfway across the universe..." Her voice trailed off as the TARDIS shuddered, and she breathed a sigh of relief for the distraction. She was sure if the Doctor kept watching her like that he'd have noticed how flustered his comment had made her. Before she could help it, his face flashed across her eyelids, burying itself between her legs...
"We're here!" He announced, grabbing his coat and hopping to the door. She followed distractedly, not bothering to push in front of him like she often did.
The doors swung open to reveal a wide, flat land, with pale yellow sand and a bright ocean-coloured sky, dotted with four or five suns that beat down on them insistently. The heat struck her before she could fully take in the sight, warming her cheeks back to their former pink glory.
"The temperature might seem like a bit much at first, but it's hardly different to the climate on Earth's African continent." The Doctor was saying. "The environment is quite a lot like yours, actually. Plenty of oxygen, a nice thick band of ozone in the stratosphere to keep the suns at bay..."
Rose let him talk, occupying herself with the sights. Where before the land had seemed entirely flat and empty, now she could see dark shapes on the horizon, some of them moving. A rustle behind her revealed a dried out plant, resembling a dead fern, with what looked like a three-tailed lizard shading itself underneath. It barked noisily at her, colour shooting into the two outermost tails, and she jumped ahead to catch up with the Doctor; looking back every so often to make sure it wasn't following them. The last thing she wanted was to be chased across miles of sand by mutant geckos.
"Nearest settlement's just up ahead. Looks further than it actually is." He told her, linking his arm into hers, pulling it a little tighter than usual. She felt embarrassingly awkward at first, but was soon somewhat grateful for having the extra balance in the soft sand. On a number of occasions she nearly tripped, reflexively grabbing a fistful of the Doctor's suit jacket for support. Painfully aware that this sort of proximity had never bothered her before, she tried to seem as casual as possible.
They finally reached the settlement; an odd assortment of huts built with sand blocks, the roofs made of dried-out roots and branches, some of which jutted out in front to support sheets of canvas that acted as shade for the creatures that stood beneath them. Rose peered at them curiously, eventually deciding that they resembled a thick-set, shaggy, fur-covered human with a dog-like face and a short rat-like tail. Their large black eyes were kind, and their long, thick muzzles opened in a grin when they saw the two humans approach.
"Doktor!" Some of them growled, scurrying over to greet him cheerfully. The Doctor laughed, ruffling their ears.
"Ralikanash Nok'knans! This is my companion, Rose." He introduced her, motioning for her to hold out her hands. The Nok'knans each took turns to bury their muzzles in her palms, familiarising themselves with her scent. She giggled as their wet noses tickled her skin.
"Ralikanash Roe!" A couple of them exclaimed. She smiled, liking them very much already.
---
Half an hour later Rose was following the Doctor around, listening as he introduced her to various Nok'knan ways of life. Everywhere they went big brown faces beamed up at them, offering them refreshments and little trinkets. Before long they each had a large thermos-shaped container in their hands, filled with the finest Pattesh available.
At first Rose had been apprehensive when she took the giant cup and peered inside, crinkling her nose at the sight of the thick, swamp-green goo that filled it. But after much encouragement from the Doctor, she took a sip, and tasted smooth honeycomb flavoured ice cream. The coldness swept deliciously through her body, and suddenly the five (or was it six?) suns scarcely bothered her.
And now, with their second Pattesh in hand (this time Rose picked a flavour that could only be described as fruit salad and custard), they stopped outside what looked like a dusty cafe, sitting down on a couple of the sand blocks that were scattered under the front canvas. The Doctor moaned pleasurably, making Rose focus harder on her Pattesh.
"Ah, even better than I dreamed." He said, taking a huge gulp from his cup. "Isn't it great when it turns out that way? You dream about something, crave it like mad, and when you finally get what you want, it completely rocks your world?" He peered at her through his glasses, watching her face intently.
"Bit excited, are we?" Rose mumbled. Was that sentiment really necessary?
The Doctor ignored her tone. "Of course! I must have really wanted this. There was this ancient Greek philosopher, Artemidorus, who believed that our dreams can be classified as either enypnia or oneiroi, where enypnia is the expression of bodily desire. And I think he was bang on the money." He slurped noisily, and Rose shifted on her seat. Suspicion began to creep into her mind, and she wondered why the Doctor was telling her this. She knew he possessed some degree of psychic ability, but he couldn't see her dreams, right? Perhaps he really did have a hankering for some Pattesh. She settled with that, taking a nervous sip from her cup and trying to brush the thoughts from her mind before she started blushing again. It was awkward enough going about normal daily activities with the Doctor after waking from dreams where he had her writhing in ecstasy, let alone-
"You've got a little something..." He murmured, swiping the pad of his thumb across her lips. She froze, watching as he paused briefly before popping the digit into his mouth, sucking slowly on the orange cream that had stained her lips.
-that.
Trying desperately not to squeeze her thighs together, Rose mumbled her thanks, feeling blood shoot to her cheeks as a pulse throbbed at her core. The Doctor merely grinned, continuing his history lesson on Artemidorus and his dream theories.
This really was not fair.
