Rose began to panic. For months—no, years—she had dreamt of this moment, but now it was happening … she squeaked out what the Doctor clearly took for an affirmative, since he leaned in …
And licked her under the cheekbone.
Rose yelped and jumped backwards. The Doctor withdrew hurriedly. "Sorry—I didn't mean—"
"What was that for?"
"You missed a bit of sauce."
She stared at him. "You are—unbelievable!"
He opened his mouth, and closed it again, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "Sorry," he said again. "I'll just … go back to bed." When she didn't protest, he positively ran over and jumped back in.
Rose turned on her heel and stormed into the bathroom, seething.
The Doctor lay listening to the shower, turning the last few minutes over in his head.
That had been very close. Had he completely lost his mind? He had almost kissed her! Thank goodness he had had the sense to change course—although he wished he could have come up with something better than licking her. He was alien, but not that alien.
Now Rose would no doubt be mad at him. Well … it was for the best, right? Better for her to be mad at him in the short term, than …
Than what?
Losing her friendship, the Doctor decided. He couldn't do that. As much as he longed for her, he knew it couldn't happen. It couldn't. And if it started, he'd have to stop it; and then …
He sighed. Relationships were so complicated. It really wasn't fair.
Once Rose had scrubbed herself free of the sauce, shampooed her hair three times and piled all her clothes into the washing machine, she had calmed down a little. She was still annoyed that the Doctor had misled her into believing he was about to kiss her—but she supposed, he might not have realised what she thought it was. He was alien, after all; sometimes he had difficulty reading human subtext.
And, although she desperately wanted him to kiss her, she was also afraid of what might happen after he had. If he would run away from it afterwards. So in some way, it was actually a relief that he hadn't.
Rose tried to keep these things in mind as she approached the bed. The Doctor was properly tucked up now, the telly off.
"Why are you in bed so early anyway?" she asked, getting in herself.
"Early shift tomorrow," he replied, sounding relieved that the subject of the not-kiss was dropped. "I'll be gone by the time you get up. I'll leave you some breakfast if you want."
"No, don't bother; I'll just have toast or something."
Rose snuggled closer to him, the last of her resentment fading. She never could stay mad at him very long. Somehow, his fingers found hers and curled around them. When he spoke, she felt his breath on the top of her head.
"So how did you get a jumbo pack of baked beans fall on you anyway?"
"I don't know; I wasn't even stocking there, I was showing a customer where the baked beans were. It was at the front and just tipped off as he touched the one below. The whole thing just exploded on the floor." Rose paused. "Naradi was the one who'd last stocked that section."
"I'm sure it wasn't her fault," the Doctor said calmly. "Maybe the shelf was just wobbly, like our bathroom one."
"Hmm."
Maybe he was right; maybe she was being paranoid. But Rose wasn't going to tell him that. She closed her eyes and they both went quiet. The Doctor's breathing evened, and she was sure he was asleep. At least, she was until he suddenly sat bolt upright.
"Blimey, Doctor! Some warning would be appreciated," she gasped.
"Sorry," he said, turning to look at her.
"What's up?"
"Were you wearing makeup? Face cream? Something on your face, anyway."
Rose frowned. "What's that got to do with anything?"
"I just realised what I tasted. Dimigyrionic acid. Bleurgh," he said, shuddering.
"So?"
"So, switch your brand. It won't be proven for another few years, but it's actually worse for you than the lead stuff your lot used to use centuries back. Find something without it."
"Worse than lead?"
"Yep."
Rose considered this. "I will." So something good had come out of the lick incident. She supposed she should be grateful. "Thanks."
The Doctor grinned as he lay back down. "You're welcome."
"But lick me again and you'll lose your tongue."
AN: OK, I'm sorry! Really, my intention was not to tease with such an anticlimax! But the idea just popped into my head and I couldn't resist … Forgive me?
