When they both walked out of the TARDIS Rose was a bit puzzled. She looked around and noted that the world they stepped into was like any other city on earth. She was about to turn around and head back into the TARDIS when she saw that the women on the planet wore similar skimpy outfits as hers and so she abandoned the idea of killing the Doctor in his sleep for playing a horrible joke on her. A couple passed by with a dog on a leash. A dog with no nose! She stood with her mouth gaping opened as it dawned on her where they could be.
"Are we…?" she asked.
The Doctor laughed gleefully and tugged her along. "Welcome to Barcelona! The planet Barcelona, not the city. This particular city is called Vasco. Anyway, have you ever been to the Barcelona on earth?" Rose shook her head, her mouth still hanging opened in shock as the Doctor took her down a narrow cobblestone road.
"The city on earth is similar to this planet," the Doctor went on. "In fact, the planet Barcelona is modeled very much after that city. The original founders were great admirers of the architects of Barcelona and its people, so they've made it a point to fashion the planet after that city. Imagine a whole planet that looks like Spain. Ha! What a laugh!"
"So where are we going, Doctor?" asked Rose, her excitement growing by the minute. She almost seemed to bounce alongside the Doctor in anticipation as they made their way through the city streets.
"Let's do a bit of sightseeing, shall we?" the Doctor asked taking Rose's hand in his.
Everywhere Rose saw men and women wore close to nothing, except for the Doctor who wore his usual attire. The planet seemed a lot warmer than she was used to, which was why people must not wear very many clothing. She had asked the Doctor why he didn't bother mixing in with the natives and he said that he never much cared for his boney knees. Rose had laughed, not really imaging that the Doctor would truly care about his appearance, despite his earlier reference to his slim figure. She also noted that there was a feeling of great relaxation in the air. The Doctor said that it was part of the planets Constitution that a siesta, a rest period, be implemented into the weeks work schedule so that the people wouldn't stress out about work as they had on planet Earth. "Does a great wonder for the psyche," the Doctor had explained.
They went along the streets exploring its architecture and its people. A lot of the building had concave and circular facades, just like the architectural work of Antonio Gaudi in the original city of Barcelona. Even the parks resembled Park Guell.
"The language the people speak, Doctor," Rose began to ask, "is it also Spanish?"
"A variation of it," the Doctor replied. "It's really a combination of Spanish and Catalan."
"Amazing!" Rose breathed as she clutched onto the Doctors hand. She had stopped at one point to see the birds flying overhead. They were like huge winged serpents with colorful plumage. "Aren't they dangerous?" she had asked the Doctor.
"No, not really," the Doctor informed her. "They're like the pigeons on your earth. Completely harmless unless they decide to drop feces on you like those buggers you have back home."
Rose giggled when she saw the Doctors distasteful expression. They kept walking until they came upon a quaint restaurant made of stone that curved around the edges. "Hungry?" the Doctor asked. Rose nodded and they went inside.
The restaurant's interior had a cave like atmosphere with tables and chairs arranged in intimate settings. The only lights flickering were the ones from the candles in the middle of each table. In the center of the restaurant was a big open space where dancers were already assembling.
"Is it like dinner and theater?" Rose whispered.
"Wait and see," the Doctor said winking at her.
A short bald man with flowing robes greeted them at the entrance and gave the Doctor a huge hug. "Welcome, welcome!" he greeted ushering them to a table on the far left corner of the room.
"How are you going to pay for all this, Doctor?" Rose whispered.
"Don't worry about it," the Doctor whispered back. "I'm cashing in on a couple of favors."
Before Rose could ask him more questions, they were seated and given menus to order. "Do they have sangria?" Rose asked in awe of the menu and the atmosphere.
The Doctor grinned at her. "What kind would you like?" he asked.
"They have a variety?" Rose asked in disbelief.
"The best sangria in the Galaxy," he replied.
Rose laughed in delight. The Doctor grinned devilishly as he scooted closer to her to explain some of the items in the menu. He was so close that he placed his left hand around to Rose's hip.
"Uh, Doctor…," Rose began.
"Do you mind?" he asked.
"No," she said suddenly, "I mean, I guess not."
"Really?" asked the Doctor. "I'll take it off if you like. Would you like me to?"
"Would you?" Rose asked.
"Only if you want me to," the Doctor said looking into her eyes.
It was at that moment when a waiter came over to take their order. The Doctor began to order as his fingers drummed by Rose's hip. She on the other hand was very much aware of their close proximity and felt almost heady. The waiter next took her order while the Doctor watched her with open interest.
As the waiter went away, Rose found that she couldn't think of anything to say. She felt as though she was out on a proper date with the Doctor. It dawned on her that perhaps this was the Doctor's way of asking her out. The sly dog! She was curious to see how far he was willing to take this, so Rose began to relax slightly and enjoy the new turn of events.
The Doctor noticed Rose's slight mood change and frowned. He was actually having a good time just unsettling Rose. He was, of course, improvising as he went along, but his placing of his hand on her hip happened before he could stop himself. The fact that Rose didn't immediately protest was a surprising bonus. Did she honestly not mind him experimenting with their relationship? At times it seemed as though they were walking a fine line between friendship and something else. He found himself holding hands with her longer, hugging her longer and finding ways of touching her without risking what they had. His hand on her hip was a definite risky move.
"Oh, look Doctor," Rose said pointing towards the dance floor. "I think they're about to start the show."
"Really?" asked the Doctor, still looking at her. "I haven't noticed."
"Don't you like dancing?" she asked. "You were actually pretty light on your feet that time when we danced in the TARDIS."
"Oh, yeah," the Doctor agreed recalling that time. "There are other types of dances that I'm good at as well."
"Really?" Rose asked interested.
"Sure, both literal and non literal are always great fun," replied the Doctor.
"You've experimented in a lot of dancing, have you?" Rose asked with a twinkle in her eye.
"I've dabbled here and there," replied the Doctor, smiling at her. His thumb began to caress her hip absentmindedly. It made Rose feel suddenly warmer.
"So you've got moves, have you?" Rose asked trying to keep her voice steady. Her heart began to race and suddenly the Doctor seemed very close. She merely had to close her eyes, lean over and kiss him. Would she dare?
"Would you like to dance with me, Rose?" the Doctor asked, the tone of his voice becoming husky. Before she could say anything the waiter brought two glasses of sangria. Rose took a quick sip feeling as though she needed a bit of cooling down. She immediately felt the affects of the sangria as she started to feel a bit light headed.
"You shouldn't really down them like that," the Doctor advised. "They can have a bit more punch than the sangria you're used to."
"You're not going to have some?" she asked the Doctor, noticing that his was still very much full.
"Oh, I'll have some," he said, not necessarily looking at the glass of sangria. His deep penetrating gaze made Rose blush as his hand squeezed the side of her hip.
At that moment the dancers began to clap and stomp their feet as their performance was about to begin. The restaurant was already filled with people, chatting away and joining in on the clapping.
"Is this like flamenco?" Rose asked.
"Something like that," the Doctor replied.
The female dancers had long flowing skirts with small tops. Their hair was long and loose while the male dancers wore tight fitting black pants and white shirts. Rose thought they were all beautiful and let herself be mesmerized by their dancing.
Finally the waiter brought them their meal. The Doctor removed his hand from Rose's hip and scooted a bit farther as he began to eat his food. Rose was left a bit bereft and missed the warmth of his hand. They both ate all the while talking about nonsensical things that made them laugh. They were completely absorbed in each other that they didn't notice a male and female dancer approach them. Before the Doctor could finish a bite off his fork, he was pulled up and led to the dance floor by the girl. Rose, in turn was escorted by the very handsome and muscular dancer. The music floating over the dance floor was slow and hypnotic. Other dancers had also gotten several of the restaurant patrons to join them on the dance floor and were beginning to dance with them. The dancing, however, was a bit too sensual in Rose's opinion and although not known as a prude, Rose actually blushed when she felt the her partner press closer to her, his muscular arms wrapping around her as he glided them across the dance floor.
The Doctor didn't seem to be having any problems. The beautiful girl in his arms made it seemed effortless, unlike Rose who kept bumping into other couples and stepping on her partner's toes. She frowned and tried not to feel like such a klutz as she watched the Doctor glide by with his partner. Suddenly the music sped up in tempo and Rose found herself switched from one partner to the next. She felt as thought she kept twirling around in the dance floor. She tried her best to keep up and began to have fun with the music. She was suddenly spun around several times until she felt herself be caught masterfully in a tight grip. Rose felt breathless and looked up into the brown soulful eyes of her new partner. It was at that moment when the music changed to a slower sensual tempo.
"Hello," the Doctor greeted, looking down at Rose as she danced safely in his arms.
"Hello," Rose said a bit out of breath.
More couples had made it onto the dance floor. The Doctor and Rose were crowded in, but they failed to notice as they seemed only to be aware of each other.
"Is this the kind of dancing you had in mind, Doctor?" Rose asked with a smile.
"What other kind is there?" the Doctor said.
"You said there was the non literal one," Rose prompted.
"Ah, yes," the Doctor replied, his grip on her tightening. They were very close now. Rose was afraid to blink, thinking that the Doctor might disappear any second. Her eyes then fell to his lips and then back to his eyes, embarrassed that he might read what was going through her mind. She licked her lips. When the Doctor saw her pink tongue dart out nervously, his stomach did a summersault and before he could stop himself, his lips descended upon hers. Rose gasped in surprise and the Doctor took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. She clutched at the Doctors collar. All the pent up desire she had for the Doctor was unleashed. She began to kiss him back just as passionately, sucking on his tongue. She wasn't sure who groaned or if they both groaned in unison, but the music had stopped and the couples were already pulling away from the dance floor, leaving Rose and the Doctor virtually alone in a passionate embrace.
The Doctor was the first one to pull away as he sensed the mood in the room change. The people around them chuckled at their show of affection. Rose turned a bright shade of pink, smiling nervously as the Doctor led her back to their table.