Guns and Roses: The Drabble Challenge

Ten: Silver

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Rose Tyler kissed me today.

Oh, come now. Do not get excited, mortal. I am hardly a blushing virgin, and it was hardly a kiss if I really consider it. Only the product of exhilaration and triumph, I assume, as you humans are so inclined to overreact to every accomplishment in your pitifully dull lives.

But I am getting ahead of myself. You should know that, for once, I did not encourage or manipulate Rose into showing such…affection. I was minding my own business, funnily enough.

Yes, it actually does happen. Shock and awe.

Anyway, I suppose this incident could be blamed on Torchwood. Rose had left me in the house—alone—for the past two weeks to work day and night in the Tower. They apparently had a break-though in the dimension canon, so who was I to protest?

I was sitting in the living room, watching a Midgardian black-and-white film, when the front door opened. I stood to greet her. I am not so unaffected by Rose to not treat her with some respect, and I was truly glad to see her. She…alright. The little blue-and-yellow woman actually can be quite charming.

It was unpleasant for me, then, to see her so distraught.

"Welcome back," I murmured as I watched her throw her bag and keys on the floor unceremoniously. Her plaited hair was coming undone, and her eyes were tight with frustration. The blue leather jacket she wore like a shield hung open over a stained shirt.

"Can I get you anything?"

"Nah. I'm just—" Rose passed a hand over her face and sighed heavily. "Just need a nice hot shower."

"Trouble at the office," I assumed, crossing my arms across my chest.

"That obvious?" she smirked half-heartedly.

"You are never good at hiding your emotions, Roses." Stupid moniker, really, but she seemed to relax a little more.

A tinny sound—the landline—called out.

"Ugh. That's probably Torchwood. I don't want to deal with those arseholes right now." She raised her voice to shout at the phone. "Leave me alone for five minutes, can you, you bastards?"

The answering machine beeped.

"Rose, it's Mickey. Call me back. We just got a readin' on the helix junction. Rose, I think it works. Ted just jumped for a solid ten minutes, no misses in time or place…nothin'. We're gonna run a few more tests. We need you first thing in the mornin'. You did it Rose. We can start findin' 'im for sure now."

"Well, how about—"

I was interrupted by a high-pitched squealing noise. I was unable to tease Rose for her reaction, however, because I suddenly found myself being dragged by my lapels towards her mouth.

There were certain times I suspected something was different about this brilliant, stubborn human. When Rose would brush my arm reached over for the remote, or when I handed her a mug of tea in the morning, or when she would just look at me, I would feel a shock of power.

But this time, just for a moment as her lips slid over mine and I felt my heart leap into my throat, I swore I saw the turn of the whole of the universe. In a breathless flash of gold the rush of time was suspended.

What was she?

And then it was over.

"Oh, god…I'm…that wasn't—" she paused, hand over her mouth, eyes as large as chariot wheels as she stumbled backwards. And then, to my dismay, she started to laugh.

"What?" I demanded, sure she was about to make some comment or another about my breath.

"Your face," she giggled. "I've never seen you so…so flustered! Cat caught your silver tongue?" She grinned that smile—sometimes I knew she must have some magic in her, for when that tongue sticks out between her teeth—

"I am not…flustered," I insisted, but of course she just laughed all the more. "Rose—!"

"Forget it," she crooned, slapping me on the shoulder before heading towards her bedroom a tad too quickly and cheerfully. "I gotta take this call. Throw a pizza or somethin' in the oven, eh?"

And that was that. Like nothing happened.

But maybe…I thought I could spot a mark of affection within her.

No. Utter foolishness. Perhaps it is for the best. It would be too difficult to sway the golden girl away from her wayward Doctor. I needed to secure a dimension canon, after all. What woman could be worth turning away all that I worked for to return to?

Well.

Then again…

Was I ever one to ignore a challenge?