A Ridiculous Exception
Chapter 1
Jack strolled into the TARDIS console room in a plain shirt and jeans, strutting around the console with his heavy black boots as he stopped to plop down onto the jump seat. He made a show of examining his fingernails as he crossed his legs, glancing every now and then at the Doctor while he tinkered off with the console.
At least it was already silently established between them that he was going to keep his hands were they ought to be, especially where a certain blonde was involved.
"So Doc," Jack started with mock cheer, shooting the Time Lord a supposedly disarming smile to his way when the Doctor looked at him for half a second. "Where are we off to, then?"
The Doctor's eyes on the view screen did not move when he answered him. "A festival," he said as a matter-of-factly, offering no further explanation, giving Jack the opportunity to lick his lips and draw to his own conclusions.
"Oh, I bet it—"
"No, it's not that kind of festival," the Doctor almost groaned and feigned a glare at the ex-conman, his lips twitching upwards despite himself. Jack grinned.
"What, Doc? I haven't even said anything yet! What ideas have you got in mind?" he leaned back into the jump seat, waggling his eyebrows at the scowling Doctor and his grin spreading wide across his face. "I've a feeling that it's trouble you've got planned for us today," he winked.
"Only for you," the Doctor retorted with flashing a wide smile as Jack saw the challenge in his eyes.
"Oh, Doctor, you know, you didn't have to go through the trouble," Jack almost laughed.
"S'alright," the Doctor grinned as he started entering the coordinates to wherever and whenever he was taking them to. "You can just do me a favour in return."
Jack raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms across his chest. "Yeah? What kind of favour would that be?"
Just when the Doctor opened his mouth to answer, a distant shout echoed to the console room, making him roll his eyes as Jack smiled in amusement.
"Doctor, where are you taking us this time?" Rose called from down the TARDIS corridors, making her voice loud enough to cover the distance between them. The Doctor grunted before answering, the wheezing sound of the ship filling the rooms as they landed.
"Just wear something comfortable," the Doctor shouted back as he watched the view screen intently.
Moments later, Rose padded into the room with a smile on her face, a skip in her step, and jumped onto the jump seat beside Jack. Jack simply grinned and put his arm around her shoulders, the movement barely fazing the Doctor. But if that didn't work, what did was whatever was in Rose's hands, where she put them by her feet.
"What?" she asked with a slight exasperation as the Doctor raised his eyebrows at the thick fur jacket, cardigan, and sun block lotion peeking from the bag that she brought with her. "I'm not bringing them all with me. I'm just putting it beside the doors, just in case I'll need 'em, so I can just open the TARDIS and grab whatever I need without having to actually go in," she explained with a little bit of pink peeking through her teeth. The Time Lord's eyes were drawn down to her mouth, and Jack tried to hide his snort.
"Oi!" the Doctor exclaimed indignantly, sounding offended with amusement lacing his tone. Jack snorted.
"See, Doc? Even Rosie here thinks you're a rubbish driver."
The Doctor grumbled underneath his breath, checking the monitor one last time and shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his leather jacket before marching to the TARDIS doors and walking out, leaving it ajar for them to follow him.
Jack and Rose exchanged a look before rushing out, and the bag of winter clothes and sunglasses left easily forgotten on the gratings beside the console.
They were stopped short as soon as they got out, a wave of sensations going through there bodies as they gasped for air. The Doctor was leaning against the wood of the police box, a smug smirk on his face as he watched the pair adjust themselves to their surroundings.
"Welcome to the Rushtenaghkadula Perfume Festival. We're at about 900 000 Earth years into your future, Rose Tyler," he rolled off her name carefully with his tongue, "and we're 2 700 000 light years away from your planet, Earth." He stood up straighter, grinning down at them at they skimmed their eyes across the sight that was before them.
The air was filled, almost brimming, with scents and smells and perfumes, and it took them a while to adjust their noses to the atmosphere. Rose let her sight glide and took in the countless caravans, the silk tents waving in the wind beside wooden and more modern stalls alike, as some had simply laid down their merchandise on woollen blankets on the dark blue soils. There were other shops she could not determine, but each and every one held bottles of crystalline brilliance, each in every colour and every shape and size, glimmering under the light of the glaring star above their heads, some bottles tall and thin in wood, some in silver or gold or some kind of precious metal with carved filigree decorating their surfaces. Others were in boxes, too expensive and valuable to display, as some were in fragile glass, some in china, and after identifying the first two dozen ways that the perfumes were held and packaged, she gave up, and instead looked up to meet the Doctor's eye, only to find that he was walking away, his back towards them as he started to venture around the place.
"Rosie," she heard a whisper in her ear, her eyes never leaving the Doctor's figure, and she smiled as she could practically see in her mind's eye the grin on Jack's face. "Don't go into trouble without me, 'kay?"
Rose grinned and looked to face Jack's excited face, but what greeted her was Jack's back, walking towards the direction of a petite woman with skin the colour of pink gold standing behind a tall wooden caravan painted with blue violets, her hair in waves of chocolate brown, and a fierce look in her indigo eyes that were watching Jack's every step in calculation. Rose snorted, knowing that he would be in big trouble after he's done his "business".
Rose ran to walk beside the Doctor, hugging his leather-clad arm and resting her chin on his bicep as she grinned up at him. He glanced at her before looking straight ahead, the twitch of his lips giving him away about his forced frown as she obviously waited for his lecture about the planet and event he dropped them off on.
"This is the Rushtenaghkadula Bazaar, where creatures from a quite number of lots of galaxies gather to sell and share the smells and scents they got and make," he started, entwining his fingers with Rose's. "Here, they give away their perfumes and such in surprisingly and considerably small prices, and some that are really rare and expensive have large discounts on them. Happens every 10 Kadattrop years, this, which is equivalent to 66.35 Earth years."
"So is that it? They come 'ere and sell their merchandise and all?" Rose asked in curiosity.
The Doctor sniffed, turning to his left as he let his sight drift upon the perfumes, stones and plants, or whatever it was the shopkeepers were selling, a smirk tugging at his lips as he let Rose swing their arms back and forth.
"Nah," he answered. "It's only like this when their sun is up. Before it hits the horizon, they start packing up to give way for whatever happens next during the night."
Rose looked up at him in a silent question, but when her request was not answered, she opened her mouth. "And what happens in the night?"
He stopped in his tracks, studying her face, before giving her one of his manic grins. "Perfume festival."
His pink and yellow human laughed in delight, making several heads turn to their direction to study her from head to toe, and received a glare each that made them turn back to their activities in shivers.
"Here's a credit stick," he told to her as he retrieved a metal bar from his pocket. He handed the credit stick to Rose, before resuming his stroll around the bazaar as Rose fell a couple of steps behind him.
"Oh!" Rose exclaimed and came closer to one of the stalls, covered in vines and blooming flowers as the bottles of delicate crystal and glass were nestled in a mix of dark and light leaves and buds of white, yellow, pink, and dark purple. The Doctor turned to find that Rose had gone her separate way as another pretty thing caught her eye, and he grumbled as he came to stand beside her as she examined a tall, intricate deep emerald green bottle amidst blue, pink, purple, clear, and golden yellow ones, the liquid inside it swishing as Rose reached for it and pried the glass cork to open.
The pale green humanoid behind the stall smiled at Rose with his most dashing smile. The look the Doctor gave him made his smile falter and his feet take a step back farther away from them, but he did not back down.
Rose held the open bottle closer to her nose, inhaled, and let out a sigh of contentment as a dreamy look entered her features.
"What's this?" she asked the green alien, putting the cork back, frowning at the slightly terrified look on his face as he kept on glancing at the Doctor behind her.
"That's perfume made of the Telassa flower, from the planet of Yveienna. Those flowers," he started informing her, earning a darker look from the Doctor as he leaned a little bit nearer towards Rose, "blooms every time the planet aligns with the star Polexus, which happens every 50 years on that planet."
"Smells gorgeous," she replied before the Doctor had a chance to open his mouth. She turned to the Doctor, giving him one of her tongue-in-teeth grins as the scowl on his face softened. "Bet Jack would love this, he would." She turned back to the shop keep, holding the bottle closer to her face as she flashed him a brilliant smile.
"Do you take credits?" Rose asked as she held up the credit stick, looking just a bit pleading and a little bit adorable.
"These cost a huge lot of credits," he took the bottle and the credit stick from her hands, his slim fingers brushing against hers as the Doctor fought down a growl, "and here, it's half-off. But for you," he smiled a secretive smile, leaning even closer towards her as he glanced towards the Doctor. "I'll give a special price."
Rose grinned at him as he retrieved a box from the hollow space beneath the stall, surrounding it with a thin purple paper before gingerly placing it inside the box and putting it in a small bag as he handed it over to Rose. She inspected the box which she assumed was made of paper, only to find that is wasn't, and saw that it was covered in a small pattern of small flowers, with roses dominating the surface of the small box. He stuck the credit stick inside a device, pushed a number of buttons, and gave the box of perfume back to her with a flirty smile.
The Doctor grabbed her hand with a jerk, dragging her a bit as she shoved the credit stick in her pocket and clutched at her purchased bag closer to her. She could hear the Doctor breathe loudly through his nostrils as he glared ahead of him, and she stared at him through her eyelashes with a curious and annoyed expression.
Rose pried her hand from his and instead wound her arm around his, holding it close to her as she shot him one of her grins, and the Doctor's face relaxed into neutrality.
What's been happening to him lately?
"How'd this all start, then?" she motioned to the festivities around her.
At her inquiry, she was rewarded with a bright smile in return, the Doctor ecstatic in sharing his knowledge and in her thirst for it.
"Oh, Rose, this is like a philanthropic gesture. Races coming from all parts of the universe are made differently, evolve differently, and have different physiologies," he started, swinging their clasped hands as Rose beamed in triumph. "There are—"
"Rosie!"
The Doctor was cut-off by an all-too-familiar voice and turned to its direction, Rose greeting it with a grin, and the Doctor with a glare. Jack padded towards them, his arm slung over a bashful-looking alien with deep blue skin speckled with a lighter shade of the colour.
"Oi, I thought you were with that gold-ish girl? Or whatever she is," Rose said teasingly as she punched Jack's free arm lightly. The terrified look on Jack's face made her laugh.
"Don't even mention her," Jack replied in a frightened whisper, and he was shot by the alien beside him, no, pressed against him, with a confused, if not a little jealous, look. But Jack pecked him on the cheek with a brilliant smile, and the blue humanoid beamed back at him. Jack's eye went to the bag in Rose's hand.
"Oh!" he exclaimed in delight. "Is that for me?"
Rose nodded and smiled at him brightly, handing the bag over to him in pride. He snatched it from her hand and smacked a kiss on her cheek, eliciting a laugh from her as Jack and his companion started to skip away into the crowd. "Don't go looking for me, and don't run off without me!" he called out. "I'll be back… indefinitely!" Jack grinned, saluting the Doctor, before he disappeared with his new friend into the sea of people.
Rose turned to see that the crease between the Doctor's brows was back, but before she could ask anything about it, but the expression on his face made her voice die in her throat. He glanced around, a worried and angry look plastered on his features, and it was obvious as he tried to school them with slight disinterest.
Right. This was one of the times when the Doctor was keeping her in the dark, and it was annoying her more than it usually it.
"You," he pointed to her, almost accusingly, but there was playfulness swimming in his ice-blue orbs. "Don't wander off," he said as he retreated into the dense crowds, walking backwards as he kept his eyes on his pink and yellow human.
"But Doctor!" Rose called him with her voice rising so that he could hear her over the loud racket of the bazaar. "Where are you going? Why are you going?"
"Don't wander off!" was all she heard, before he was gone. Rose huffed in exasperation and rolled her eyes, moving to follow the way where the Doctor was headed moments earlier.
Don't wander off, my arse.
She looked around, and in some distance away from where she stood, she saw a glimpse of black leather turn a corner, wandering deeper into the dense crowds. Rose quickly pushed through the humans and aliens alike that separated her and the Doctor and immediately followed where he had gone.
But when she reached where he had been, he was gone, and out of sight.
Rose looked around for a while before giving up, proceeding to venture through the shops and shops of perfume reaching till beyond the eye can see.
That git, she thought. I could have come with him. The next time I see that daft old face of his, I'm going to… to…
She almost stopped short as she pushed the thought aside, shaking her head and focusing on the sights and smells before her.
She walked towards one of the blankets, studying the bottles and jars and ceramics filled with varying substances by her feet, shining under the purple sky. It was a yellow creature that resembled a caterpillar that walked towards her, smiling at her expectantly as she lifted a small wooden box, and she lifted the lid to see a simple round glass perfume bottle with a soft glow of pink, the glass cork topped with a round knob, situated in the middle of pieces of straw. A waft of the scent reached her nose, and she gasped before she felt her eyelids droop a little at the heavenly smell.
"What is this?" she asked the merchant without taking her eyes off the bottle. Rose lifted it gingerly with her fingertips, putting the box down as she used her other hand to undo the cork, lifting it closer to her face, and her nostrils flared before moaning in delight at the perfume. It was one of the most gorgeous scents she knew.
The yellow caterpillar person, thing, smiled, or what seemed like a smile. "It's called Truth. 10 percent of that came from the Falls of the Rushtenaghkadula, a couple of days worth of trek from here. The rest is just water and a little bit of apple blossoms from Earth, to subdue its effects."
Rose looked over at the seemingly wicked expression on the alien's face. "What sorta effects?" she asked curiously, barely paying any mind to the other creature pushing at her back and sides, focusing more of her attention to avoiding any spill of the vial's contents.
"It's called Truth for a reason," the caterpillar-y thing answered, amused.
Rose stared at the simple yet elegant perfume bottle, the liquid it contained almost an orange-gold, and thought for a moment before making up her mind. She let two drops fall on her wrist before setting the bottle down, and rubbed her wrist with the other, before putting on the perfume behind her ears. The shopkeeper looked at her with an unreadable expression, and Rose grinned at it as she replaced the perfume back into its box, handing it back over to the merchant, and sniffed her wrist with her eyes closing with glee.
"I'll take it."
•
She walked around, enjoying the wonders of the sense of smell as she kept on glancing at the setting star in the distance, the sky darkening into a dazzling purple around her. When the sun had completely gone, the only trace of its presence earlier being the rays of light peeping from the horizon, she jumped at the loud bell-like sound ringing across the vast expanse that was the bazaar. All creatures suddenly froze for a few moments, holding their breath for what seemed like an eternity, and Rose was left perplexed before finding herself in the middle of an even worse rumble of chaos than before.
The pandemonium died down, soon, though, and the aliens around her walked in hushed whispers and light careful footsteps. She looked around, looking for a certain leather-clad Time Lord to explain to her and guide her through whatever it was that was happening.
What happened to him, anyway?
Around her, decorations were being set up, with strings that held stars of silver and crystals hanging on poles, bunches of pale purple and olive green flowers glistening under the moonlight hung up high above their heads, and some of the paler blue humanoids, the native Rushtenaghkadulas, started to move around with trays brimming with boxes of stained glass that held a delicate-looking flower. They handed each that passed by them one of the boxes, and the foreign life forms to her accepted them excitedly and eagerly. When Rose was offered one, she took it carefully, hesitantly, and thanked the Rushtenaghkadulian with a small smile.
Rose toyed with the hem of her pale yellow sundress a little nervously before continuing to wander around, enjoying the festivities as she looked for the Doctor at the same time. She grabbed a glass of… translucent purple goo from one of the aliens carrying trays of it in the wide area the aliens socialised and laughed and danced and sang.
As she roamed around, a couple of the creatures around her complimented her, some making her grin while some making her blush. She frowned at the strange occurrences, but trudged on in her search for the Time Lord.
Soon getting tired of walking, she plopped down onto one of the benches situated beside one of the poles, placing her purchased perfume on her lap and stared at the colourful glass box she held in her hands as she finished off her odd drink.
It was then that the pale green humanoid from earlier sat down beside her merrily, a twinkle in his eye and a bounce in his step as he sang, but his voice did not join in with his over-all joviality. He sang long, stretching notes, his tongue caressing each sound in low notes that varied in volume and sometimes in pitch, making tears almost glisten in Rose's eyes as he sang what seemed like one of the most beautiful lullabies she had ever heard.
"You've a beautiful voice," she complimented as he smiled at her, almost swinging his feet from the ground as the lack of his robes granted him access to better movement. He wore a painted vest this time around, revealing the toned muscles that were hidden earlier, and dark green breeches that hugged his hips the most delightfully. His hair was more mussed, more natural, and Rose liked it better this him.
"Thanks!" he quipped, letting his eyes roam over her a bit that brought a light blush to Rose's cheeks. "And you," he tapped her nose playfully, "look lonely. Where's that big walking storm of a man you were with a while ago, leaving you alone?"
She stiffened at the description he gave the Doctor, but smiled nonetheless. "He told me not to wander off," she scoffed. "Who wouldn't wander off if you said that to anyone?"
The alien laughed. "My name is Paluus," he offered his hand. Rose shook it.
"Rose," she introduced herself in the same manner.
"And you, Rose," Paluus started as he leaned a bit nearer to Rose, sniffed, and stared at her with a wicked glint in his eyes, "are wearing perfume, and not the one I sold to you, either."
"I bought that one for a friend," she explained to him, her hand subconsciously landing on the box of the one she purchased for herself. "I bought myself something different."
"I know," he told her as he watched her with a hint of amusement. "I can smell it. And it does make you smell utterly delicious, you know? And you look delicious, too," he winked as Rose blushed profusely this time. "No wonder that man you were with earlier basically killed us all off with his intense glares." Paluus leaned closer once more to Rose, as if what he was about to say was too scandalous to be said out loud. For all she knew, it was. "Bet he wants to be the only one to taste you."
"The Doctor? No, I—I, I mean…" Rose stuttered. Paluus grinned, and tapped the side of his nose.
"Can't lie, you know," he said casually. "That perfume you're wearing, Truth? It really makes people around you tell and act the truth. Strictly no lies."
Rose's eyes widened with realisation.
So that's what those compliments were all about.
"You sound exactly like a friend of mine," she grumbled good-naturedly. "You should probably meet him. I bet you two would get along just fine," Rose drawled on the last two words as she waggled her eyebrows suggestively. Paluus raised his eyebrows at that, grinned, and just when he was about to come up with a retort, a seemingly drunk big dark brown man with yellow whiskers stumbled in front of them as he passed by, and shouted at her that she was the cutest thing he's ever seen, almost licking her in the process.
Rose stared off in front of her in surprise while Paluus laughed beside her until he lost his breath.
"I am not wearing this again, not until I need it," Rose mumbled as she frowned. It's not that she really spent a lot of her money for it, but it did cost a lot.
"Just wait till this Doctor finds you again," Paluus grinned as he leaned back on the bench, his hands on the seat supporting his weight. "Let's see if you'll still think that."
Rose sighed, glancing around the crowds of people dancing to several types of music as the others stood at the sides, talking with wide smiles on their faces. Some were exchanging bottles and containers of scents and perfume, their faces harbouring different kinds of expressions after each sniff.
"You ought'a get out there and dance, you know," she nudged his foot. "You don't have to stay 'ere and babysit me."
Paluus thought for a moment before bouncing onto his feet, bowed lowly in front of Rose, and offered his hand with a gigantic smile. "May I have this dance, dearest Rose?"
Rose returned his smile and took his hand, standing up and curtsying to him with amusement laced with her tone as she said, "Why, yes, you may, my own dear Paluus."
He scooted her into his arms and twirled her around, making her laugh gleefully as she was led by him in a strange, unfamiliar dance as he sang a tune. She stepped on his feet a couple of times, elbowed his sides even more often, and bumped into people as he circled her with as much grace as he could, and she kept on apologising between her giggles bubbling in her throat, which the green man who held her merely dismissed with a wave of his hand or a laugh. She balanced the bag where her new perfume was held and the stained glass box as best as she could, careful with the fragile objects, and silently wished she had the Doctor's bigger-on-the-inside pockets.
Just before she was about to tell him that she was exhausted, an all-too-familiar voice cut through her thoughts, and made her turn to face its owner with excitement and relief.
"Rose?"
The expression on the Doctor's face was almost indifferent, if only she didn't see the blazes in his eyes as he glanced back and forth between her and Paluus, who still held her quite closely as they were interrupted in the middle of their dance.
"Doctor!" Rose exclaimed, withdrawing from the green-skinned man and threw her arms around the Doctor's neck, feeling his own arms wrap around her waist in turn. She drew her head back and smiled at the Doctor, whose face tense but less so, returning to Paluus'.
"Doctor," Rose began. "This is Paluus. Paluus, meet the Doctor."
Paluus held out his hand and grinned at the Time Lord with all his charm and Rose caught a look between the two men before she could register what it had meant. The Doctor shook it, nonetheless, and grinned his manic grin with the force of a dozen armies.
"Nice to meet 'ya!" the Doctor greeted him, and Paluus winced as he glanced down at their still clasped hands, clearly uncomfortable. "Not really, actually. You sold my Rose here perfume a while ago, right?"
The other alien tried to pry the Doctor's tight grip from his hand, but to no avail. "You can let go now, you know," he grunted. "I won't do anything to Rose. She's all yours."
"Hey!" Rose interjected, annoyed. "I'm right here, and I thought you two should know. And I don't belong to anyone!"
The Doctor broke his intensifying glower at Paluus, and directed his hungry gaze towards Rose. It made her shiver as his eyes roamed over her breasts to the curves of her waist, and it made her lick her lips, and it was there that the Doctor's eyes snapped back up to her face. "Are you sure you're right about that?" he growled before turning back to Paluus, and Rose heated up at his rhetorical question, but shook it off as she tried to stand between the two men.
"Hey Doctor, what's wrong?" Rose asked, facing the Doctor, as she placed her hand lightly over his own that gripped at the pale green alien's. It loosened a bit, and Paluus took it as a chance to quickly retrieve his hand, sighing in relief as he succeeded. "You've been acting a bit strange since Jack came on board, but right now… something seems really off. What aren't you telling me?"
"You wandered off again, Rose," the Doctor gritted his teeth as he set his eyes on Paluus. "As if that wasn't bad enough, having to find you through his crowd, you set off to hang out with the one person I don't want to find you with."
It was then, that before the Doctor could do anything rasher, that Rose grabbed his hand, sent an apologetic look to Paluus, and dragged him away from the green alien, as to cause a less of a scene. She held the bag that held her new perfume tight in her other hand, and decided that if the Doctor was going to be like this whenever she wore it, the chances of her using it decreased even more.
Rose led them to no direction in particular, roaming as she did earlier, as long as she kept the Doctor preoccupied with walking around. That was, until they happened to stumble across the TARDIS, and Rose sighed in relief, reaching for the key around her neck to lead them inside the ship to at least wash off the perfume from her.
Before her fingertips could reach the chain that held her TARDIS key, she yelped when strong hands grabbed her shoulders, turned her around in one swift motion, and pushed her against the TARDIS door. She looked up at the Doctor's face in confusion, only to freeze upon seeing the look on his face.
His eyes dropped to her chest to her waist then to her hips before returning to her face, hunger and possession clear and evident in his stare.
"Doctor, what are—" she was cut off as he ducked his head, leaning closer to Rose as he breathed against the side of her neck. She could feel his slightly cool breath against her hot skin, and it tingled to reach to her fingertips and toes. He moved, pressing his lips softly against Rose's skin as he slid his hands to envelope her in his hands, eliciting a moan from her as she grasped at his leather jacket. He flicked his tongue over the spot behind her ear, licking it before humming in satisfaction.
"You are just delectable," he whispered into her ear, nipping her earlobe in reward to the whimper that escaped her lips. She couldn't even care less if anyone saw or if anyone was watching. If this is what happens if she wears the perfume, then she changes her mind. She should definitely wear if more often.
The Doctor went back to the spot behind her ear, licking it once more, that made Rose's eyes drift shut. "Perfume. Truth. Bad, very bad. Because if it weren't for the mixed substances in it such as poxilliatis and cleramin, I would have been able to stop myself from doing this," he said as his hands slid to cup her bum and pressed her hips against his, making them both moan at the contact.
Rose's eyes shot open, realising his words.
She pushed him backwards and turned quickly to face the TARDIS doors as not to see his hurt expression, struggled to fit the key through the hole, and dragged the Doctor in as soon as the door opened. Rose groaned internally, leaving the Doctor in the control room as she marched down in a hurry to the nearest shower.
It had all happened in a lot more than a couple of hours, so why did it seem like the last couple of minutes?
It was going to be another awkward day tomorrow, she just knew.
AN: Hey, Chapter 1. :) This STILL isn't the real, real story plot, sorry, but it'll surely come on the next update. :S I actually thought of changing the chapter, with me not liking it very much, but ah, well. :D
Enjoy! Unbeta-ed, not edited, so please forgive any mistakes. Don't forget to leave reviews! :)