Rose was beyond happy at the turn of events that had happened the night before. She was elated, ecstatic, absolutely and incandescently overjoyed. She even woke up with a smile on her face, as cliché as that is. The smile only wavered when she woke to find her bed empty.

Not just empty, though, void. Completely void of the Doctor's presence. Had he not come in last night? He wasn't there when Rose's exhaustion finally took over, but he did say he had to take care of something in the TARDIS before bed. He had kissed her goodnight, a chaste be-right-there kind of kiss. Did it take him all night?

Rose assumed it had, wouldn't be the first time some project had overtaken his mind and made him lose track of anything and everything else. So, smile back on her face, she wrapped herself in her fuzzy pink robe and made her way to the kitchen. She momentarily noticed it was empty, but quickly busied herself with the tea.

She made her way down the hall to the console room, both teas in hand. She even hummed on her way down. But he wasn't there. Now that was odd. Rose stood there in the middle of the console room like an idiot for some time, that once permanent smile slowly slipping away. He wasn't still working on the TARDIS, he wasn't in the kitchen that morning, and he never even came to bed.

Oh no.

Rose's thoughts were interrupted by someone clearing their throat. She whipped around, careful not to spill any tea, and saw the Doctor standing almost sheepishly in the door way. Not in a nervous way, more like he wished he hadn't just caught her attention. Like he wanted to run the other direction.

Oh no.

"Hey." Rose said, trying for a chipper tone, but it just came out as nervous as he looked. "I… uh, made tea. Came lookin' for ya. Thought you were still working."

"Huh?" he replied dumbly. Well, that settled that.

"On the TARDIS. Like you said you were gonna last night." Which obviously he didn't. "You didn't come to bed so I assumed…"

"Right, yeah, well, I uh…" He pulled on his ear. "Wanted to talk about that, actually. The, well… sleeping arrangements."

"You regret it." It wasn't a question. It also wasn't what the Doctor was expecting her to say. "You kissed me and now you regret it."

"Wot?" He looked genuinely shocked and a bit… hurt? "No! No, no, no, of course not. Do you?"

"You know I don't." She answered honestly, not sure where this conversation was headed anymore. "But you didn't…"

"I don't wanna do this wrong!" He hurriedly admitted, gesturing between the two of them.

"Doctor, wot are ya on about?" She asked.

"I just fell like…. I don't wanna be improper… if we're really gonna do… this…" He finally got out.

"Improper?" She asked incredulously. Then, it dawned on Rose. "Wait, are you sayin'… goin out? Like us datin'?"

There was a bit of a pause. Then, Rose bust out laughing.

"Oi, there's no need for that." The Doctor remarked incredulously.

"I'm sorry, really!" She laughed. "But you're nine hundred years old and you act like this cos you wanna ask me out?"

"Well, it's not like I've done this before! Sure, I've been married, but I've never had to court someone." The word just made Rose laugh more. "Well, I haven't! I've never really been in love I don't know wot I'm doing."

Rose finally sobered up a bit, just lightly giggling now. She walked towards him, pecked him on the lips, and said, "Meet me in the kitchen."

It wasn't until thirty seconds after Rose had disappeared that the Doctor, standing there completely dazed, realized he said the word love. He immediately snapped out of it and sprinted to the kitchen door. Just before making inside, he skidded to a stop and tried calming his breathing.

Rose was sitting quite calmly in her seat at the small table. She was already on her second cup of tea. A new, steaming cup was placed in front of his chair. He gulped, feeling like he was in some sort of trouble, or at least that he was about to have a very uncomfortable conversation. He was a Time Lord with the universe at his fingertips, but nothing could prepare him for whatever was about to happen. He really hoped she wasn't angry with him.

Forget Daleks, who cares about Cybermen, not even the entirety of the Sontaran army could invoke the amount of fear that a possible slap from a Tyler woman could. Steeling his nerves, he sat across from her, trying to fidget less and failing. He took a sip from his mug, trying for casual.

"So, I think it's best we have a real conversation 'bout this." Rose said as he set his mug down. "No footin' round each other, all honesty, alrigh'?"

He simply nodded.

"I know you weren't fixin' the TARDIS, and I'm not mad, but I don't want'cha lyin' to me either." Rose sighed, then reached across the table, gripping his fidgeting hands. "If we're doin' this, I want honesty, always."

"I'm sorry, I just… don't know wot I'm doing." He admitted.

"I don't either." She said with a caring smile. "This certainly isn't like any relationship I've ever been in." she admitted. She wasn't lying either, whatever was happening with the Doctor in this timeline was more than she ever hoped to have, but it was also completely new.

"I don't want to mess up." The Doctor confessed shyly. "You mean too much to me."

"Well, sleepin' in a bed together isn't gonna do that, I promise." She joked.

"I'm never gonna live that down, am I?" He groaned.

"Nope." She giggled.

He took a sip of his tea, thinking what to say next. He had said he loved her only minutes ago. Not in so many obvious words, but she was more than clever enough to know he meant it. So, the question remained, did she love him? How would he even ask her?

"So, we're far past the point of a normal beginning of a relationship, first dates and meetin' mum already done and all." Rose pointed out, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Honestly, thinkin' 'bout it, we act so much like a couple already."

He huffed out a laugh at the truth of that.

"Nothin' has to change." She said.

It dawned on him that she was trying to keep things light and casual. It was like she was approaching a wild animal, hoping not to scare it off. Of course, he should've known she would be able to read him so easily. All his anxieties were probably so obvious to her, he might as well be wearing a neon sign. She wanted to make sure he didn't run away from her.

That simply wouldn't do.

"Well," He said, letting his fear melt away as he stood, "that is not entirely true."

She tracked him with her eyes, her brows furrowed, as he moved to her side. He towered over her and was suddenly very aware of his absolute love for her. Looking into her eyes, he felt nothing but love fueling his actions. He didn't know if she was yet in love with him, but he was already so deep that he knew she would be written on his hearts forever. He gently places his hand on her cheek, stroking her cheekbone with his thumb, as he leaned forward toward her.

"I get to do this now." He murmured, inches away from her. Then, he swooped in and kissed her.

A/N: This feels very fitting for Valentine's Day, so here ya go! I just want to apologize, firstly, for not uploading sooner. I was going to go right into Tooth and Claw next, but a LOT has happened in my personal life and, I'm not gonna lie, it's been pretty tough. That said, i decided to write this at the last minute after working up the nerve to pick this back up. So, if you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to write them! I love hearing from you guys. Hope you enjoy!