~ 7. There is this place, and you are here, and I have a question to ask but it feels too soon ~
It's there that he almost asks her to marry him.
The ring is inside a velvet box in his pocket that matches the purple sky above them.
They've just been to a planet with rays flying through the sky and he asked her how long she is going to stay with him. She met his eyes and said exactly what he hoped she would say, exactly what he wants. He almost asked her there and then; but then she glanced away from him, back to the horizon, and he bottled it, the moment lost.
Now, they've got a plate of chips in her lap and a bottle of white wine next to them, and she's sitting between his legs with her back against his chest. He alternates between nuzzling the top of her head, nibbling the shell of her ear, and stealing a chip. Rose places her hand over his where it rests on her thigh and they sit together like this for ages, until she suggests they open the wine.
It isn't long before both of them are pleasantly tipsy. The wine is Dreosian, their favourite, and it's no secret that Dreosian white wine is quite potent. The chips are all gone. He runs his fingers through her hair and she turns in his arms to face him.
"I just want to say," she murmurs, slurring only very slightly, "That I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be right now than here, with you."
He grins at her, warmly, lazily. "Likewise, Rose Tyler."
She tilts her head forward and he does, too, and so they kiss for a few moments, unhurried and gentle and he aches with his love for her, and with sorrow, too, because what if this is taken from him, what if he loses her, what if he –
She makes a little sound into his mouth, her arms twining around his neck, and he rolls them over so that her back presses into the grass. "Never leave me," he whispers against her neck, as he moves his mouth there to suck and nibble and tease.
"Never," she insists firmly, tugging at his hair. He groans and she kisses his temple, his cheek, the line of his jaw.
He skims his hands down her sides, and she shivers beneath him. "Promise me?"
"I promise."
Her words, they always sound so sure. He loves that. He slips his fingers to the hem of her top, and tugs upwards, arching away from her so that there's room between them for her to move it off the rest of the way. Once the fabric between them is discarded, his lips descend to her sternum, and the way he mumbles in Gallifreyan as he moves his mouth across her skin makes tears come to Rose's eyes.
::
After, they stay entwined together, bare but for the moonlight dancing shapes and shadows across their skin. She murmurs something sleepily as she dozes with her head on his chest.
"Hmm?" he asks, because he hasn't heard her properly but he's sure she said something important.
"I said," she replies, through a yawn, "That I love falling asleep like this."
He smiles. "Naked? In my arms?" he asks cheekily.
"Don't sound so smug," she retorts, poking his chest half-heartedly.
"I'm just very, very happy."
"Yeah." She sounds dubious.
"I am!" he insists, then kisses the top of her head. "This is my favourite way for you to fall asleep, too."
"All right," she giggles tiredly.
He tightens his arms around her, giving her an affectionate squeeze. "I love cuddling you. You're so…cuddly."
Silence.
Then…
"I'm going to be nice and not take that to mean that you think I'm fat," she mutters magnanimously.
"What?" he replies, confused. "Of course that's not what I meant. Is that – did I – am I not meant to refer to you as cuddly? Because I meant it in the most loving way possible, Rose. Because you're all warm and soft and cosy and comfy and I -"
"It's all right," she laughs. "I know."
He sighs in relief. "Good."
"Where are we going tomorrow, anyway?"
He thinks for a few moments, watching his hand stroke her arm tenderly. He thinks of how nice this feels, holding her close; thinks about how he wants to do this for as long as possible. He thinks of the storm that's surely approaching, about how maybe he does not have enough time to wait it out any longer. "I think I'll take you to Nara tomorrow," he whispers into her hair.
"Yeah?" she replies, her eyes opening, excited to see the mysterious place he mentioned so many months ago.
"Yes," he answers, his voice firm. He knows he will. He has to. And then, when they are there, they can talk things through. Check that she definitely wants what he wants. Make sure that she knows how much he loves her. "Yes."