Author's note: Sorry about the long gap between updates. Sick kids keep one from doing much writing!
Letting out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, she stepped into the cozy room and drank in the warmth of the fire and the Doctor's obvious happiness to see her. Putting his hands on her upper arms, he gave them a gentle squeeze and a brisk rub. "Never going to bring a proper coat, are you? You're cold. Come on, food's already here. No point in eating it cold if you can eat it hot, and I doubt they've got much in the way of microwaves. Although those two little suns do give off a tad more microwaves than I'd have thought. Ooh, look, more pies!"
They sat down to eat and spent the meal chatting about the village and villagers; by tacit consent, they'd save the real information sharing until they were fed and comfortable. Once the Doctor had scarfed down the last molecules of the fruit- and spice-studded bread, they started packing up the basket. As Rose leaned across to collect the bottles and corks, the Doctor nudged her arm back down. "Oh, go on, I suppose I can handle the arduous cleaning here. I know you want to go flop about in the tub. Sometimes I think you humans never should have left the water, the way you get all…human-y…about baths." A smirk snuck out as he snagged the large lidded tureen from the center of the table and heaved it into the basket.
"Hey, and for that I'll take you up on it, cheeky!" Rose flounced to grab her knapsack and headed for the bathing room, directing a parting shot over her shoulder as she disappeared: "…and I think you missed a crumb there."
She dropped her knapsack on the bench and went over to check her scrubbed-out clothes from the day before. They were almost dry, so she gathered them up and brought them back into the less-humid main cottage to finish up over the night. Seeing her re-emerge, the Doctor put on a rather pitiful show of labored exhaustion as he dropped the linenlike napkins into the basket and flipped the lid shut. Rolling her eyes and grinning, she draped her clothes over various pieces of furniture and made a second beeline for the waiting hot water.
She had just got her trainers off and was brushing out her hair when the Doctor knocked at the door. "What? No dishes in here, good man…" She was rewarded with an indignant snort, then she heard the Doctor slide down the wall and settle just outside the cracked door. "What in the world are you doing on the floor?"
"I can't talk to you from the chairs, can I?"
Was he really going to sit right there while she lounged in the tub? Rose thought furiously for a moment, then hesitated before replying. "Look, that's weird. I suppose you could come sit in my Jacuzzi while we talk. Only there's no daiquiris, but…"
"Aah." She could feel his hesitation.
"Underwear's the next best thing to a bathing suit, I'll have you know. Come on in before the water gets cold."
She could positively hear him scratching the back of his head as he muttered something about that taking several millennia, barring any exceptionally unusual tectonic activity. She stripped off her dusty second outfit, leaving on her black cotton sports bra and matching boy-cut knickers, then grabbed her toiletries before slipping into the steaming water. The odd, slightly alien tang of the local dissolved minerals wafted up around her face as she leaned back against the smooth rock, either worn or polished into a perfect backrest. This was definitely her favorite planet, she decided. Besides Earth. Maybe.
A puff of cool air accompanied the Doctor through the door. He had ditched his suit jacket and tie, and he perched on the edge of the bench, not looking directly at Rose. "Bit small, with you wallowing about. I'll just sit right…"
"Nope. In." Rose gave a perfunctory splash with one hand, indicating the pool's other indentation next to her. "Plenty of room. Come on."
Another hesitation, then the rustle of clothing and thunk of Chucks. Rose forced herself not to look up and slightly behind her left shoulder. After a moment, a flash of pale skin and blue shorts crossed her line of vision, and all of a sudden the Doctor was in the pool with her: soaking wet, wearing nothing but boxers, and two feet away.
Okay. You can handle this.
"Please tell me this feels as good to Time Lords as it does to humans. I know you've got the wonky lower body temperature and all, but it is seriously not right to not enjoy a hot tub." Rose stretched her back and settled a little lower in the water to let it cover her shoulders. Thank goodness the water was all ripply as the hot water fed in and drained off; at least that obscured things a bit!
"Hmm. It's definitely hotter than Gallifreyans would ever choose, but we have a good bit more control over our hypothalamus, as well as the ability to tolerate a wider range of environmental conditions, so it's quite safe. And very nice," he added quickly, seeing Rose's bemusedly raised eyebrow. "Rather be in a hot tub with you than a tepid one with a Slitheen! Imagine the bubbles."
He beamed brightly, then his grin faltered a bit as Rose snorted sternly. "Well, that's quite the compliment. Never been told that before…" She gave up and threw her head back, laughing.
He took the opportunity to watch her in an unguarded moment of happiness. She was so delightfully alive, so open and willing and accepting and forgiving. And, he had to admit, quite lovely too. Her pale skin was flushed with the heat, and strands of her hair were clinging damply to her neck and collarbone. He forced himself not to look down below her neck, but he knew already that there was more attractiveness there, and now probably wouldn't be a good time to blatantly admire that…
"Well, how was the day with Orrona?" He stretched up out of the water to snag a couple of washcloths from the pile, and Rose couldn't help but get an eyeful of mostly-bare Time Lord. His usual suit hid any details of physique save for his slim build, and she'd not been in much of the mental state to appreciate it when she'd changed him into pyjamas after his regeneration, so seeing him – especially in this setting - sent a shiver straight through her. His shoulders and long arms were sleekly toned, and he had a fine layer of hair on his nicely muscular chest. She'd known he was thin, of course, but was still taken aback by his narrow waist and flat stomach above the band of his boxers.
"…Huh? Oh." Damn, she'd been caught staring. "It was a pretty long day. We spent a couple of hours with that girl getting her supplies ready for that coming-of-age ride. Orrona is really professional and efficient. You wouldn't believe what she can remember and calculate without even pencil and paper. She had them there, I mean, but she didn't ever use them. And they discussed a lot of stuff."
"Yes, in a low-tech society they often have very developed mental computation and memories, in the fields that require them. Actually not uncommon for young people to be chosen into those fields based on their aptitude as children in those areas…" The Doctor was rummaging around in the small pile by the edge of the tub between them and finally retrieved Rose's bath gel. He dunked a washcloth and squeezed out a blob of gel. "Turn around."
Rose hesitated for a fraction of a second, then shifted so her back was to him and felt the water currents as he scooted closer to her. A cool hand gathered up her damp hair and efficiently twisted it into a knot, tucking the end under itself without a clip. Then the hand settled on her shoulder as the other hand began gently washing her back. "Is that all you did? Discuss supplies?" The scent of juniper wafted up.
Shaking herself mentally – concentrate, Rose! – she tried to focus on the conversation. "No, after the girl left I went with Orrona to the tanner's and then to the metalworker's. She was placing some orders and checking on deliveries. Then we went to her aunt's house for lunch. They have four little kids who worship the ground Orrona walks on. After that, we spent the rest of the afternoon inventorying and unloading a bunch of stuff in her storage area; she said that with the cooler weather coming, she needs to find out what she's low on as soon as possible since the nearest village still isn't very near."
The Doctor finished with her upper back and shoulders and began working his way down her left arm. "So nothing earth-shattering? I'm disappointed. I thought if you got two ladies together they'd gossip the meaning of life in under an hour!"
"Watch it, you. I didn't say that was all I learned!" He had her left hand in his, carefully and thoroughly washing it, and she was feeling the oddest combination of relaxation and desire. No spa worker was ever this, well, amazing. "I found out who's cheating on who, and who isn't very competent, and who is, and who her brother the creep wants to get with" – ugh, she really didn't want to think about Shahved now– "and who needs another wife fast before he poisons himself with his own cooking, and who makes the best homebrew and saddles in town. So there. Dead useful, gossip."
He finished with her left hand and started on her right arm, rubbing the lather in slow and gentle circles and paying a bit more attention to a patch of sticky resin on her wrist, which she'd gotten whilst helping Orrona unload one of the several deliveries of the afternoon. "Hmm. Well, I didn't even leave Duleian's until well into the afternoon. Most of the ones you met this morning stayed through lunch, talking, and I don't think I even babbled much; you should be proud. Mostly the current worries about crops, and herds, and a few basic society things. They really do have a remarkably self-sustaining little culture here. It's far from perfect, but the openness between leadership and governed is very entrenched, which is a good thing. They choose a new leader every cycle, which is about equivalent to two and a half years of your Earth time, from the…"
Thwap! The knock on the door echoed from the main room like a shot. A muffled voice – they couldn't discern its owner through the pool room door – announced itself.