2.8 The Idiot's Lantern

Once the initial shock of having her face sucked off and stored in a television had worn off, Rose was inclined to view their adventure in 1953 as rather a lark. She and the Doctor had gotten to play detective and injure the ego of a sexist wanker while at it, they'd dashed about on a motorbike which had been a fairly spectacularly good time, and in the end, they'd beaten the bad guy and stuck around for a bit of a party. Plus, she'd been the one to discover the pivotal clue, which was always nice - especially in lieu of the Doctor's teasing "domestic approach" comments. All in all, she was feeling upbeat and cheerful as they returned to the TARDIS.

The Doctor, however, was not having quite the same reaction to the day. Although he'd put on a happy face in front of the crowd and initially been quite blase about the whole thing, as the evening wore on, he'd struggled more and more to hide the distress he was obviously feeling. Rose watched him worriedly as they entered the console room. She perched on the jump seat and observed him as he launched the TARDIS into the time vortex once again. His movements lacked the energy and joy they usually contained, instead seeming more direct and economical, resembling more the movements of her brooding first Doctor than her usually manic current one.

As he stared blankly at the console, Rose slipped off the seat and walked over to him, leaning on the console beside him and watching his face until his eyes finally met hers.

"Doctor, you alright?" she asked him.

Contrary to his usual "I'm always alright," the Doctor stayed silent. Instead, he brought his left hand up to cup her cheek, his eyes looking forlorn. Rose stayed quiet as the Doctor ran his fingers over her face, tracing her cheekbones, her eyebrow, her lips, before moving his hand behind her neck and pulling her in for a tight hug.

"I never should have left you," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"Doctor, it's fine," Rose murmured reassuringly, running her hands up and down his back. "I'm fine, I promise." She could feel him shake his head against her, and then he was pulling back slightly, just enough to get a good view of her face, his eyes full of pain and guilt. He brought his hands back to her face and then moved forward, bringing his lips to her skin.

He kissed her forehead first, and then her eyelids. Her right temple, followed by her cheek, and then her nose. He ran his nose lightly up her other cheekbone and up to her left temple, breathing in the scent of her hair. Finally, he brought his mouth to hers. He kissed her, lightly at first, and then more firmly. His hands slid into her hair, holding her in place as he continued to explore her. He deepened the kiss, and Rose let out a quiet sigh of satisfaction, sliding her own hands up to his shoulders.

The sound seemed to snap something in the Doctor, and the kiss quickly escalated until it wasn't exploratory at all. Instead, it was rough and demanding and, if Rose was being honest, extremely arousing. The Doctor moved forward, pressing Rose's backside into the console as his tongue dove into her mouth and his hands clenched in her hair. She let out a moan and his hands left her hair only to grasp the backs of her thighs, hoisting her effortlessly onto the console's edge without ever bracing the increasingly desperate kiss.

Rose hadn't been able to articulate to herself why she had put off becoming fully intimate with her second Doctor to herself before this point, and as he moaned into her mouth and clenched his hands on her stocking-clad thighs, any reasons she'd had to begin with - however vague - went right out the window. Without thinking, Rose wrapped her calves around his bum, crossing her ankles behind him, and used her arms behind his neck and her entwined feet to pull him tightly to her so that his pelvis ground against her core. The pressure of his obvious hardness against her caused her to return his moan, biting his lower lip before sucking it into her mouth.

The Doctor's hands slid up her thighs and under her voluminous pink skirt, past the elastic of her thigh high stockings and onto bare skin. Rose's head fell back and she groaned, abandoning his mouth, as his left hand grasped her bum and held her steady while the fingers of his right hand rubbed against the dampening center of her knickers. She could've sworn she heard the Doctor growl in response to her moan before his mouth sought her neck, his teeth nipping at the sensitive skin under her ear as two of his fingers slid under the edge of her knickers and, with no warning, plunged into her core.

"Oh, FUCK," Rose heard herself cry as her hands wound themselves into the Doctor's hair, pulling as he thrust into her, curling his fingers slightly, his movements becoming smoother as she became wetter in response to his fingers and teeth.

"Rose," the Doctor breathed into her neck, his voice dark and wanting. "Rose, I need you, please."

"Yes," Rose gasped, "Please, fuck, yes."

The Doctor's hand retreated and she could hear him fumbling with the fastening on his trousers as he freed himself. Then, moving his head back so that he could meet her eyes, he pushed her knickers to the side, aligned himself with her entrance, and plunged into her.

Rose gasped and closed her eyes. It had been months since they'd done this, since before he'd changed bodies, and the feeling of him filling her bordered on overwhelming. The Doctor groaned at the feeling of her enveloping him and gazed at her face, waiting until she opened her eyes again. At her nod, he began to move, pulling back and then pushing back into her, slowly at first, and then with more force, his eyes never leaving her face. Rose whimpered at the sensations he was causing, moving her hands from his neck down to the edge of the console, where she clung, anchoring herself as he pounded desperately into her, watching her every expression with reverence.

As the Doctor's thrusts became more desperate, Rose felt one of his hands move beneath her full skirt to cling the crease of her hip, his thumb coming to her clit where he began to rub circles in time with the movement of his hips. Quickly, she felt her climax rising. "Oh fuck," she muttered, feeling the fire inside her build. "Oh god, Doctor, please, yes, please, oh god!" and with a final curse she shattered, her legs tightening around him convulsively as she rode out the waves of pleasure. With a few final ragged thrusts, the Doctor joined her, his head falling to her shoulder as he called out a muffled completion into the fabric of the bomber jacket she still wore.

The stayed like that for a moment, entwined and panting, before Rose uncrossed her ankles, letting her legs fall as the Doctor's softening length slipped from her. As he pulled back, she slid off the console and straightened her skirt, giving him a cheeky, tongue-touched grin.

"So, feeling better?" she asked him, winking. The Doctor mock glared at her as he tucked himself back into his pants and trousers, but couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from twitching.

"Hush, you," he said, grabbing her waist and pulling her to him for a tight hug, kissing the top of her still-headband clad head. "Thank you," he murmured into her hair.

"Any time," Rose grinned, burying her face in his shoulder. "In faaaact," she drew out the word teasingly, pulling back from him and scooting out from between him and the console, "I was thinking I might go grab a shower; I've been in this dress for way too long. You could always join me?" She winked at him again before turning and sashaying toward the hall, her pink skirt swishing around her knees. When she looked back at him over her shoulder, he was grinning and the haunted look from earlier was completely gone from his eyes.

"Rose Tyler," he declared, his voice both fond and full of promise, "I do believe I will." And with that, he stuck his hands into his pockets and sauntered after her.