Title: Taking the Plunge
Author: Shen
Rating: NC-17
Characters: Rose, Ten, Donna, Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Ianto
Setting/Spoilers: No spoilers whatsoever. Part of my Peril-verse (see my profile). Recap of said 'verse is at shengirl dot livejournal dot com/8390 dot html
Teaser: Trouble in paradise! The Doctor's really done it now, and his friends suggest a rather drastic solution: Marriage?!
Author's Note: This one's illustrated! Link attempted to be included. It's also at my Deviantart, which is linked in my profile.
11: Blue and Gold
"Rose, wake up." Donna whispered. She waited a moment. Less patiently, she tried, "Up and at 'em, sweetheart; you're getting married."
"Nnnng." Donna snickered.
"The Doctor left you some hangover brew," she whispered conspiratorially. That finally lifted the blonde's disheveled head from the pillow.
"God I love that man."
As Rose approached the kitchen, she heard the sound of rubber soles beating on grating.
"That'll be him running away," Donna commented wryly, and Rose rolled her eyes. Having heard that seeing the bride the day of the wedding was bad luck, the Doctor viewed it as a delightful tradition of hide and go seek. And, judging by the waves of amusement and slight taunting the TARDIS was generating, he was having the ship help him evade.
In the spirit of the "game," Rose left the TARDIS and its passengers at the wedding site and arrived on Shireen's doorstep, hair damp, garment bag in hand, and clad in a shirt. The button-down would save her hair from the ravages of a t-shirt collar when it came time to change.
"Oh, look at you, smiley!" a giddy Shireen teased upon opening the door, punctuating the greeting with a hug. Rose said nothing, unsure of how to explain the lingering hilarity that was the source of her smirk. She'd exited the TARDIS to see a flash of brown fall behind a bush, Jack staring at it blankly. Then hearing the shrubbery yell indignantly about bad luck and cheating. That image might crack her and Donna up for weeks.
Still; she needn't have worried; her friend didn't wait for a response before setting Rose's garment bag inside the flat and bodily hauling her to the nail salon. Rose then had the alarming and embarrassing experience of simultaneously receiving a manicure and having her hyper friend set curlers into her damp locks, leaving her feeling harassed.
Later, however, she would look at Shireen's handiwork in the mirror and decide it was worth it.
The Doctor looked over everything one last time. This was it. And, as far as weddings went, he thought it was turning out rather well. Their marriage process wasn't exactly typical, but they weren't a typical couple. They skipped a lot of the frills of a traditional one, which suited them both, and he loved Rose all the more for not making him jump through endless domestic hoops. No rehearsal dinner, no engagement party, no shower, and a shorter ceremony. They hadn't even needed to find a licensed wedding site, since Rose remained legally dead, and he didn't exist. Instead, a section of park had been reserved for the day.
The TARDIS had located eight white benches with ornate armrests in her depths, each big enough for about three people. The Doctor and the others had arranged them in two rows, with generous space between them so Rose would have more than two steps down the "aisle." Ribbon of gold and pale blue lined the outside of the rows, and the aisle side of each bench had a few white daisies and a blue or gold bow affixed. Someone had even located a white lattice arch to set at the fore, for Jack to stand in front of while he gave the ceremony. They'd elected to not have more than a best "man," Donna, and a maid of honor, Gwen, who each wore a black and white dress. Had the couple employed a more normal number of bridesmaids and groomsmen, there would be more people on the "altar" than in the seats, after all.
Eight benches and an arch in the grass, with 5 people at the altar. Perfect in its simplicity, its thrown-together elegance fitting for them. The Doctor himself wore his usual tuxedo. To his relief, Rose hadn't asked him to comb his hair differently or even wear shoes that weren't his Converse. Actually, she had been quite insistent that he not mess with his hair. Rather, the only difference in his outfit was that he wore a gold-colored bow tie instead of black. That small thing he conceded gladly.
Finally, he had cheated a bit to pick a bright day with mild temperature. The sun shone at the audience's back at an angle, leaving no one blinded.
The time nearing, everyone got in their places, including their audience of Owen, Toshiko, Ianto, Keisha, Mitch, Keisha's brother Jay, Sarah Jane, Luke, Martha, Tom, Mary, Eustace, Mo, Mo's husband, Wilf, and Shireen's mother and one of Jackie's friends, people that had been like aunts to Rose. Suddenly, Shireen appeared out of the path, swiftly finding her seat and waving to the Doctor. Ianto used a remote to start the music playing.
From behind the trees appeared a vision. Rose stood for a moment, smiling shyly in her dress of pale blue and white. Secretly, the wedding colors of blue and gold had been chosen because they were a mesh of their auras, his blue and brown and her red and gold (and wouldn't red and brown have been ghastly?). In her case, the bodice was silky and blue, sleeveless and embroidered with small white flowers and vines. The white skirt seemed to wrap and gather to one side at a blue ruffle resembling a flower, and its underside was also blue. Her hair had been swept up in a lovely fashion by Shireen, a wavy fringe left outside the hold. One side was held at bay by a gold-colored clip, and the outfit was finished off by a gold necklace with a darker blue stone and earrings. Sure but unhurried in her step, Rose walked up the aisle, sunlight glinting off her hair and alabaster skin and leaving him so dazzled he didn't notice himself reaching for her proffered hand. It was only as it entwined with his that his sizable brain caught up with his body and realized he was grinning madly. Rose returned the toothy smile, and they turned to face Jack. The music stopped.
IMAGE: i253 dot photobucket dot com/albums/hh52/shengirl/weddingcopy dot jpg
She was dizzy with happiness, and it was contagious. He could practically see her glowing, while he was almost vibrating with energy. Shockingly excited. The battle had been pitched, but domesticity had finally won the war in the quarter of love and weddings. (But hell if it'd ever see him in a minivan. He had standards.)
Rose stood with the Doctor at her side, in front of friends and family. Time was, she never thought she'd be here, and to be proven wrong overloaded her with joy. She could even feel that he was happy, truly happy to be where he was and not just going through the motions for her benefit. She squeezed his hand once in thanks as they grinned at Jack. The blue-eyed man returned the expression in kind.
"Welcome, everyone. We're gathered here today to declare the lifelong union of my dear friends, the Doctor and Rose Tyler. We all know these are not vows to be entered into lightly. However, do not doubt my confidence in this couple. Their affection was constantly apparent before romance ever bloomed, and their devotion has tested sure and strong in many instances since. That in mind, I ask, does anyone protest this union?" Silence greeted the traditional query. Rose was proud of Jack's delivery, voice dignified and projected for all to hear. The man could be very classy when he wanted, and he cut quite a figure in his tuxedo. He looked around the small audience carefully, then smiled.
"Excellent. Now the bride and the groom will exchange vows, as decided upon by themselves." He nodded to the pair, and they turned to look at each other. Rose's heart tap-danced in her throat as the Doctor began to speak.
"Rose. You're the most important person to me. You saved me, in many ways, and I'll never forget it. I promise to stay with you, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, every step of the journey, if you'll have me."
"I-" Rose squeaked, then quietly cleared her throat. "I will. Doctor. You rescued me as well, from the life I once knew. With you, my day to day became the extraordinary. I promise to stay with you, for better or for worse, in any face, each step of the journey, if you'll have me."
"Try and get rid of me," he responded softly but cheerily. Grinning like a loon, Jack clapped his hands once.
"Beautiful. If you could exchange rings?" Gwen and Donna handed rings to the couple, bands of white gold. The Doctor took Rose's hand and looked into her eyes.
"With this ring, I do thee wed." He slipped it onto her finger, where it sat snugly against her engagement ring. She then took his left hand.
"I pledge you my forever." She carefully slid the band onto his finger. When she looked up, he was blurry to her watering eyes but beautiful in his elation nonetheless.
Jack stated merrily, "I declare this couple wed, with all the joy and responsibility entailed. You may now kiss the bride." Their lips met firmly. Then, breaking convention somewhat, the Doctor picked his bride off the ground and twirled her before taking her hand and running down the short aisle. At the end, they hugged tightly, and the Doctor called out at the audience over Rose's shoulder.
"Well, come on then! Let's party!"
The lighthearted crowd moved to a cluster of picnic tables with cloth-covered benches, behind which sat a longer table blanketed with covered food, plates, utensils, and a cake. The confection was two-tiered, each tier lined with edible ball bearings in yellow and blue. At the top sat a simplistic little pair of wedding figures, and behind them stood a wooden blue block, taller than either figure (undoubtedly to the silent confusion of several wedding guests).
Everyone dined on roast beef and its usual accouterments, cake, champagne (all delivered by a caterer just before the ceremony), and banoffee pie (provided by Martha, to the Doctor's glee). Sometime before cake and after a glass or two of champagne, Donna made her best man speech.
"Excuse me, everyone!" She tapped her fork against her glass and put on a slightly buzzed smile. "I'd like to make a toast. These are two fantastic friends of mine. You'd never look at a stickman of a nerd like the Doctor and think, 'That man can change my life.' But he can. And I don't mean in a squishy, romantic way; that's just for blonde Londoners. No, there are a number of people here who can tell you about how the Doctor has a... unique and contagious way of living. But that's not to sell the bride short! It takes quite a woman to handle a giant, know-it-all kid like the Doctor. I know I've slapped him enough. More than that, she's sweet and nice and quick on her feet, in more ways than one. They're a great match. And they're the best couple a single girl could live with. To the Doctor and Rose." She sat back down and caught the mostly good-natured glares the couple were giving her.
The Doctor remarked dryly, "Thank you for the backhanded show of sisterly love, Donna." At that, the woman just snorted.
"Space man, you're just lucky Rose's family are here, or I'd have brought out the blackmail. I think the story about how you two sang 'You're the One that I Want' from Grease to get out of being electrocuted by tentacled duck people is very demonstrative of your relationship." Rose shuddered at that memory and took another sip of champagne. Meanwhile, the Doctor opened his mouth, presumably to give an indignant response, but he stopped and closed it again.
"Actually, considering that we ended up running away because the hooting in the 'hoo hoo hoo, honey' part replicated their battle cry, you're distressingly right."
"'Meditate in my direction' is also kinda... apt, innit?" added Rose dismally.
"Hate to complain about your party," Owen said as he sauntered up, "but there's not much to chat up here. Everyone's either taken or old. Except Shireen, but I don't think she likes me much. Probably, the 'Don't weddings make you horny?' line was the wrong approach." Everyone stared at him. "What?" he asked, oblivious.
Biting back an exasperated sigh, Rose suggested, "Go ask Tosh to dance, Owen." He blinked.
"I hadn't thought of that. May as well keep each other company; it's not like she'll be getting any action either. I tell you, that Wedding Crashers movie's a right lie."
"You're right, neither of you will be getting any at this rate," Donna agreed in a patronizing tone. Owen just gave her an irritated look and walked off.
Once he was out of earshot, Rose commented, "I swear he has, like, some kind of metaphorical horse blinders on. The way things are going, I think we should just give Tosh a club to smack him with."
Donna said, "Except he doesn't have enough hair to drag him by. She'd never make it to her cave – or flat, rather."
"What are we talking about?" the Doctor whined, confused. Donna and Rose each patted one of his arms and nodded sympathetically at his obliviousness. Then, before he could comment further, Rose sweetly asked him to dance.
To be concluded with smut.