Authors note: I hated Reinette. And I hate that I felt like I had to waste a sentence on her in this chapter... GitF annoyed me to no end. I still believe that Rose is the love of the Doctor's life.

Thankfully, Rose had stopped prodding before she got to the real source of his trepidation. It was, and always had been, his fear of losing her. Whether he lost her in battle as the demon so cruelly suggested, lost her to the desire for a normal domestic life, lost her love due to something stupid he did, or lost her due to old age, the fact remained that he would eventually lose her. The thought alone could break both of his hearts simultaneously. He was cursed to outlive all of the ones he cared for and wander the universe haunted by their memories.

But this little human shopgirl had slowly managed to erode all the barriers he had put up around his hearts. He had long since conceded that he cared deeply for Rose, more than any of his previous human companions. Longing for a romantic relationship with her, however, was something he had only recently allowed himself. Yes he had always desired her, but what he was feeling now was more than just desire. This was more than just a fleeting infatuation like Reinette. This was so much more than that.

She had already promised him her forever. Would sixty or so years with Rose be worth centuries of missing her? Would the pain be worse if he were forced to live with himself, never having tried at all? He desperately wanted to be able to live in the moment with Rose Tyler, to appreciate the time they had together to its fullest.

"Well, would it be alright if I took some of the 'initiative'? And you can tell me if you start feeling uncomfortable, yeah?"

Wait, what had she just asked him? Heaven help him, whether it existed or not he needed divine intervention. The Doctor's never ending gob carried on without him. "Absolutely!... I mean, yes, that seems like a prudent approach."

"Always the romantic, you are." Oh, that flirtatious giggle!... Mischief had spread across her face in a smug smirk.

Rose scooted across the blanket, until she was right next to the Doctor. Leaning back against him, she laid her head on his shoulder. Her soft blonde hair tickled the Doctors cheek and neck. Would now be an appropriate time for him to smell her? Not that he could help it at this proximity. He took a deep intoxicating breath and let the mix of chemicals linger in the back of his throat. Rose... Rose smelled of... Oh Rassilon... Rose smelled wonderful. Soapy triglycerides laced with rose flower extract (appropriately) from her bath, talc in her makeup, and her natural pheromones. Was there anything in the universe that could smell half as alluring as Rose Tyler pheromones?

"Doctor, did you just smell me?" She teased.

"What? No... No, I was smelling... The banana pudding you made. Smells fantastic!"

She picked up the bowl of the aforementioned pudding and took a spoonful. Her full lips wrapped around the creamy dessert, and for a second, he saw her pink tongue curl around some of the pudding. Was she doing that on purpose? Was this part of her seduction? Now she was licking the spoon clean, making him jealous of the inanimate piece of silverware.

"It is pretty fantastic, you want some?" His companion asked innocently.

The Doctor thought about the various ways he could approach this. He could lavish the same attention to his spoonful of pudding, hoping that she would take notice. Inevitably though, that would lead to a battle of pretense. They could both be so stubborn and continue to escalate the battle indefinitely. It could take forever for one of them to cave that way. He had already waited for her for so long. Instead, he decided to go for the tiny bit of banana-y goodness that was clinging to the corner of her mouth, gently with his forefinger. Before he could pull his finger back, Rose captured it and kissed away the pudding.

"Oi! I was gonna taste that!"

She dipped her own finger into the bowl and brought it up to his lips, offering. In a quick motion, he grabbed her wrist and held it still. The Doctor scrunched up his nose to inspect the digit through his glasses, which had slid down his nose again. With a long deliberate lick to her finger, he retrieved the pudding and followed by clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth as he analyzed the flavor.

"Not bad." Mused the Doctor.

Rose pulled herself up onto her knees in front of him and moved her free hand to rest on his cheek. The Doctor tightened his grip on her other wrist and swallowed thickly. Her amber eyes shone like a sunset over Gallifrey as she searched his face for permission. In the time it took for his hearts to skip a double beat, she closed the distance between them and pressed her lips against his. The gentle kiss was warm and full of affection.

Too soon, she withdrew and blushed down to the neckline of her dress. She was beautiful and bashful and, without knowing it, had successfully removed one of the last barriers that the Doctor had left. He knew that once this thing had started with Rose, he would never be able to stop. A quick tug on her wrist, pulled her back to him. He placed her arm around his neck and pressed into a more passionate kiss. His own hands instinctually wound around her waist as he pulled her closer still. They were both on their knees now, chests flush up against one another in the moonlight.

Again Rose broke the kiss, and the Doctor whimpered in protest. She stood up and straightened her skirts before reaching out for his hand. Kneeling like that was a bit awkward, he had to admit, but his lips already felt cold and lacking without hers. The Doctor took her hand and jumped up onto his feet, desperate to recapture her lips.

He got in a few misplaced pecks as Rose shuffled him backwards up against the door of the Tardis. It was only when his back was firmly pressed against the police box that she kissed him again in earnest. This time, she was holding him firmly by his lapels and ran her tongue along the union of their lips until he relented access with another whimper. Their tongues found each other. She tasted like the banana pudding they had just shared. With his eyes closed, his brows knitted up and together expressing the bliss he felt in kissing Rose, expressing the relief from nearly two years of build up. If he weren't wearing those bioluminescent dampening pants he would have been embarrassed at how quickly his body was responding to her. He moaned softly into her mouth.

At some point, Rose must have opened the door behind him because she was guiding him backwards again, except this time she keep her lips locked with his. They were inside the Tardis now, although the Doctor couldn't care less where they were as long as Rose kept doing that thing with her tongue. He was like putty in her hands, drawn like a moth to her flame, and all those other similes that flashed through his mind which essentially meant that he was helpless to her. He wasn't used to allowing himself to be completely at the mercy of another creature, but when that creature happened to be Rose he found it surprisingly liberating.

Suddenly, he felt the cold metal of the console behind him. Was she going to shag him on the console? A war broke out in his mind between his long time fantasy of doing exactly that, and the rational concern that they would inadvertently press a button that they shouldn't... Well... then again, if he let himself get hung up on things they shouldn't be doing, he certainly wouldn't be raking his right hand through her long blonde hair... Or nibbling on her bottom lip... Or flicking her tongue desperately with his... With his left hand, he braced himself on the edge of the console.

Rose trailed her lips across his cheek, along his jawline, to his ear. "Is this still ok?" Her breath was tantalizingly hot against his neck.

A strained noise reverberated in his throat that sounded vaguely like 'Rose' in Gallifreyan. Skillfully, she divested him of his over coat and began working the buttons on his suit jacket, all the while peppering soft kisses around his pulse point. When she pulled back to look at him, her eyes were heavily lidded and filled with lust. The Doctor was sure the look on his face mirrored hers, perhaps slightly more bewildered, but filled with desire all the same.

It was then that Rose's expression fell. She furrowed her brows like she was confused about something. Her hands, that had been busy removing his suit jacket, dropped slowly down to her sides.

"Am I doing something wrong?" She asked meekly.

"No! Absolutely not... Why would you think that?"

"Well, I just thought by now... Umm... There would be evidence of... I mean, if I were a Time Lady, I would certainly be glowing after a snogging like that."

"What? Oh... Oh! I would be, if... I mean, I am... Except." Spit it out you idiot, before you ruin the moment, he berated himself. "I asked the Tardis to give me special pants that are designed to hide my somewhat 'luminescent tendencies' when I'm around you."

"So you are enjoying this?" She still sounded self conscious, which was terribly unnecessary.

He shrugged off his jacket, scooped up Rose in his arms, turned them around, and placed her sitting on the console with one leg on either side of his hips. As he kissed her once more, the Doctor pressed his body hard against hers, in all the right places so as to erase any doubt she may have had about his interest. The sudden pressure he put between her legs made her gasp. The fumbling with clothes resumed with greater urgency. The Doctor loosened his tie, and helped her with the buttons of his oxford. Damn his multiple layers of clothing! Stumbling as he tried to remove his trainers without losing contact with her lips, he couldn't get over the fact that he had all the grace and charisma of a randy 150 year old (which was none, by the way). It was strangely appropriate that everything felt so new again with this sweet girl.

Rose kicked off her sandals in one fluid motion and grabbed him by his loose silk tie. She slid off the console and lead him, via the tie, to the door that the Tardis had placed closest to the console room. He internally sang the praises of his merciful ship when that door happened to open into his bedroom.