A/N: Ten and Rose oneshot, obvs. The Doctor reveals something interesting D x
...
Superior Senses
Rose is lounging on the captain's chair reading a magazine when it happens.
She's flicking through, spending about ten seconds skimming each page, not really reading the words so much as she is simply pretending to. She's trying to look disinterested in what the Doctor is currently doing. She isn't. But she can't look at him, or he'll work that out.
(He's sitting on the floor surrounded by technological stuff, fixing the TARDIS. Nothing new there. Except today, he isn't wearing his jacket. He's just in his shirt, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, tools and oil in and on his hands. Glasses perched on the end of his nose. Hair standing up every which way, looking even more ruffable than usual.
Rose isn't sure why this sight affects her so much.
But he is very sexy.
Hence, the magazine is a nice distraction.)
Lost in her thoughts, she doesn't realise the Doctor is kneeling behind her, peering over her shoulder. Therefore, she jumps rather spectacularly when he speaks.
"Are human men really that oblivious?" he asks her, his nose wrinkling and brow crinkling in confusion.
After her little jump about five feet in the air, she mumbles an exasperated, "What?"
"That article you're reading. Do men really not have a clue?" he asks innocently.
She looks down at the page she hadn't been reading, and sees what he's going on about.
She's a bit mortified.
She blushes. "Um..." she replies, not really sure how to answer that question.
To her horror, he takes the magazine out of her hands and starts to read the article avidly, his expression shifting from confusion to distaste in a moment. "What?" he mutters to himself.
Rose swallows thickly, and tries to snatch the magazine back. But he jumps out of her way, and starts pacing around the console with it, dodging past her every time she leaps to take it off him.
"What?" he mutters again. "That's easy."
Rose isn't sure what he's referring to but she's very sure she doesn't want to know.
(She is a liar. Of course she wants to know.)
"I really don't understand why you humans don't even understand each other," he says distractedly.
Rose huffs and puffs. "Doctor. Give it back."
"No, no...this is interesting."
"Interesting?"
"Mmhmm."
"Why?"
"Weeelll, it makes me realise exactly how good I am," he tells her, grinning cockily.
"Oh. I thought you were reading it to try and get some tips or something," she teases, a small smile creeping onto her face.
"Oh no, I have the moves - "
" – but you wouldn't want to boast? Yeah. You told me that already," she says. A little irritably, she realises, but seriously, she's been waiting for a good year and a bit now for him to actually show her those moves. Not that he ever will, she knows that. It's still frustrating.
"So I did..." He appears to consider that for a second. She's unaware what he's thinking. Which is probably a good thing. Because he's thinking something along the lines of: 'Why don't I show her?' Which is wrong and highly inappropriate.
He clears his throat and looks back at the article.
"So, now you've had your ego boosted, can I have it back?" she asks him, tugging his arm.
"Why are you even reading this?" he asks, before cursing his own voice for sounding so tetchy about it.
"I dunno, it's just an article," she pauses thoughtfully. "Hang on, what? You get to censor my reading material or something?"
He tugs his ear with his free hand. "Nooo, I was just...wondering why you'd...need..."
"...Why I'd need to read it?"
He nods, barely. He shifts and looks down at the console so that she can't see his face and the gentle blush that's most definitely not sweeping over his cheeks. Because Time Lords don't blush. Not for anyone. Certainly not for Rose.
(Liar.)
"I don't need to. Where would I get the opportunity for that sort of thing when I'm in here with you all the time?" she says, giggling lightly. His head snaps up at that, and she's surprised at the strange Look he gives her. She's not sure what that Look means; she's never seen it before. But it deserves a capital letter. Nevertheless, she takes this opportunity with the Doctor being baffled and motionless; she steps closer to him and takes the magazine out of his hands.
He narrows his eyes at her actions, then folds his arms and leans back against the console. In a way that he hopes appears casual.
"What exactly were you even talking about, anyway?" Rose mutters, scanning the page.
He grins mischievously. "Wouldn't you like to know..."
Rose is ignoring that. Really ignoring it.
Well. She would be. If he wasn't stepping towards her right now.
He still has his arms crossed, and he's watching her intently, a gentle frown upon his face as if he is contemplating something.
"Doctor?" Rose murmurs tentatively.
"Huh? Right. Yes?" he replies, a smile covering his face. The frown has gone. He's obviously decided what to say or something.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Humans."
"Humans?"
"Yeah. Humans," he repeats, walking past her and sitting on the captain's chair.
"Anything I can help you with?" she asks harmlessly.
He raises an eyebrow. "Weeelll," he murmurs.
Rose sits down next to him and crosses her legs, the magazine in her lap.
"Why," he begins, motioning to the magazine, "Does half your species not understand what the other half wants? Come to think of it, why do people feel the need to make articles directed at women, talking about what women want themselves? Don't you even know?"
"When you say 'you' - " she starts, worried he's going to try and get her to tell him exactly what she likes or something. That would be a really awkward conversation to have with her best friend. Who's an alien.
(Who she fancies the pants off of. And perhaps loves.)
"– I mean women in general. Not you personally. Weeelll, I suppose you as...no. No, I mean just generally," he clarifies finally. He rests his arm on the back of the chair, unintentionally brushing Rose's arm as he did so.
She feels a shiver run down her back and she tries to concentrate on what he's saying. "I...I have no idea. I suppose...well. I dunno. Maybe humans are just a bit rubbish," she suggests.
He nods. "Goes without saying," he deadpans.
"Oi!" she cries, poking him in the chest in indignation.
He grins at her wolfishly. "Time Lords aren't," he says casually.
She gulps. "Aren't what?"
"Aren't 'a bit rubbish.' Superior Time Lord senses, I've got." He glances down at her magazine again. "I'd be able to find your erogenous zones without even looking at you, let alone reading that," he tells her, before he's had a chance to check the words.
Her eyes widen and she stares at him in shock, disbelieving whether she heard him correctly or not.
He notices her looking at him oddly. He replays that last sentence back in his head and realises how it sounds.
"Not that I plan on...um...finding...them," he hastens to add.
She raises her eyebrows.
"Sorry, that sentence got away from me somewhat. Um, what I mean is - "
" – really?" she murmurs, interrupting him.
"Huh?" He swallows visibly.
"Really?" she repeats.
"Really what? That I would be able to or that I don't plan to?"
She shrugs. "Either. Both."
"Yes. And...no," he replies honestly, and she nods. Then she realises what he just admitted and gasps in shock.
Did he...
Does he...
Are they...
Would he...
Will they...
...huh?
"Wh – you – wha - huh?" Rose vocalises her thoughts.
He gives her a small smile. "Stand up," he instructs.
She does as she's told. She likes the sound of this new development.
He stands up in front of her and takes his tie off.
She just looks at him as he holds it out to her expectantly, unsure of what he's asking her to do. "Tie it around my eyes," he elaborates.
She purses her lips to stop herself letting out a delighted giggle. It looks like he's really going to prove this to her.
She can't wait.
"Ok," she replies, shrugging, trying to appear indifferent to his request.
She ties his tie around his head and gives one last, long look into his eyes before she pulls it down to cover them.
As she makes to move her hands away, he reaches up and takes her wrists in his strong grasp. Her breath hitches and she wonders, not for the first time, whether he'd actually need to bother finding her erogenous zones.
(She thinks her whole body might just be one great big one, when he's touching her.)
The pads of his thumbs lightly caress just where her palm meets her wrist. Then, slowly, slowly, he lets go of her wrists and runs his hands up both her arms, a feather-light touch that gives her shivers. He continues his journey up her arms until he meets her shoulders, which are conveniently bare bar the tiny straps of her vest top. Then, quite swiftly, he uses his grasp on her shoulders as leverage to swing her around. She gasps quietly, but trusts him effortlessly, so she lets him continue.
His hands trail a path down her back, dancing across her spine. He stops when he reaches her lower back, and leaves one hand resting softly on her hip, while he lets his other return to her shoulder. He surprises her (again) by pulling her backwards, so that her back is pressed against his front. His hand moves from her shoulder to sweep some of her hair out of his way, and he lets out a shaky breath that he hadn't known he'd been holding. It flutters against her neck and her knees almost buckle in response.
He leans down a little closer to her ear and blows against it softly, making her shudder in anticipation.
Then he does something she thinks that maybe, just maybe, he's wanted to do since he's regenerated.
He lets his tongue trace a path up her neck to her ear, and then gently catches the lobe between his teeth.
Her knees do buckle then, and he has to clutch at her waist to hold her upright.
"Are you..." Rose begins to croak out shakily, "Is this just...an experiment? Are you just," she pauses as he teases her ear some more, eliciting a moan from her mouth. She clears her throat. "Are you just doing this to prove something? What does this..." she trails off when the Doctor leans down further to run his mouth along her jaw line in open mouthed kisses. His arm tightens around her waist to keep her firm against his body rather than let her fall over.
He drops his head then, and kisses her shoulder, then the back of her neck, then her other shoulder, and his hair tickles her as he moves his way across. "Doctor..." she murmurs softly, and he nuzzles her other ear in response.
Abruptly, he spins her around to face him. She's still pressed up close, and she wishes he isn't wearing that blindfold because she really wants to see his eyes right now. She wants to know what's going on.
Her quick, heavy breathing flutters against his chin, and it's only a moment before he leans his head forward again. Instead of capturing her lips as he intends, he misjudges a little and actually ends up kissing her nose. But that's okay. He can work his way down. But first, he makes an accurate attempt at kissing one temple, then the other, then her cheek, then the corner of her mouth, and then he can feel her pulling on his shirt with one hand, her other turning his head slightly, before aligning their mouths perfectly. And then he kisses her.
His hands trail down her sides, her back, her stomach, wandering anywhere and everywhere that is Rose. She parts her lips and for the first time, they are kissing properly. No vortex, no Cassandra, just them. Kissing. Kissing. And oh, it's really brilliant. Really quite magical. Rose feels like she's dreaming. Dreaming a really, really good dream.
"Rose?" he murmurs.
She moans into his mouth and thrusts her hands into his hair wildly. This is amazing...
"Rose?" he says again, clicking his fingers in front of her face.
"Huh?" she replies, smiling widely. Then her eyes refocus and her face drops.
Dreaming. Daydreaming. Right. Huh. Great. Just great. Damn her overactive, fantastically imaginative imagination.
Well. The Doctor would never really have done all that, would he? She's just being silly. Hopeful. Naive. Very silly. He's the Doctor. He doesn't do things like that.
(She can't believe that she let an imaginary scene affect her so much, though. Woah. It had felt so real. She's getting good at this. He hadn't even touched her, either. She'll have to go back and finish that scene off in her mind later on.)
Anyway...
Where were they? Which was the bit where she started hallucinating?
"Rose?" he repeats. Again.
She clears her throat. "Um...right. Yeah, sorry. Zoned out for a sec there. You were saying?"
"Weeeellll," he begins. Best not remind her that he just made a right fool of himself by talking about finding her erogenous zones without even looking at her. Which, as he said, he doesn't plan on finding. Ever. Ever. Unless...no. Never. Right. Glad that's sorted. "I was just saying that human men must be stupid, and as you say, rubbish, if they can't work out what their women want," he says instead.
Great. So they are still on this conversation. That's not going to help her calm down, is it? Why is it that he insists talking about things like this? Does he not realise what he does to her?
"I mean, come on. It's not exactly hard," he continues, and Rose groans in annoyance. He doesn't notice. "All you have to do is - "
" – you're saying this like you're talking from experience. You have sex with many of your human companions, then?" she asks bluntly, and then she curses herself internally for sounding so obviously jealous at that prospect.
He frowns then, and looks at her. "No. I'm just talking theoretically," he explains, implying that that is obvious. Because why would she think that?
"Right. So you've never actually tested the...theory...out then?" she asks him dubiously.
"Of course I haven't," he says, watching her carefully. She looks as though she doesn't believe him. Honestly, who does she think he is? Time Lords don't do that sort of thing.
Weeelll. Not usually. But...Rose...Rose is...
No. No. Nooo. No use going there with his trail of thought.
She stares at him, and he doesn't know what to make of her expression. So he does what he does best.
He rambles, "What I'm trying to say, is..." on and on he goes, and Rose just looks at him, biting her lip, trying to will those images of him and his...tongue...and that kiss and everything else out of her mind.
He carries on hypothesising for ages, sharing his musings and conclusions with Rose along the way. He's not sure why, though. He's not sure why he's even pursuing this conversation. Why is he discussing this again? Is he trying to prove something? Is he trying to make her...wonder? Is he trying to get her to see that he isn't as completely oblivious to her and her...well, just everything about her...as she thinks? Is he trying to show her that even if he isn't human, he can be like one, only better? Is he trying to push things in that direction; the direction which he has consciously avoided for so long because of who they are, and what they mean to each other?
These things, he does not know. And yet, he rambles on.
"...So anyway, my theoretical conclusion is, it's easy. If you fancy someone, or if you..." he pauses, and averts his eyes from hers for a moment. "Weeelll, if you love someone, surely you'd just know? Instinctively?"
She swallows thickly. "Um..." she replies, speaking for the first time in a while. "It should be, I suppose. Yeah. But it isn't - at least, it hasn't been in my experience. I mean, Jimmy and Mickey both fancied me, and loved me – well, Mickey did - but..." she trails off.
The Doctor meets her eyes again, a frown firmly on his face. Not because of her mentioning Jimmy and Mickey. Not at all. He's not remotely jealous or anything. Of course not.
(Liar.)
"...but then again," Rose starts, and it's her who's thinking now. "Maybe it's only...you know, how you expect from films and stuff, all magical and fairytale-like; maybe it's only ever like that with one person. The Person. The One," she pauses when she sees him narrow his eyes. "Or not..." she adds quickly, embarrassed.
"No, no," he insists, not wanting her to think he's disagreeing with her. "I think you have a point. Because there's someone for everyone, right? And maybe Jimmy and Mickey weren't that someone. For you."
"Maybe." She gulps, and prays he doesn't notice.
He notices. He always does. He's got superior Time Lord senses after all.
He gulps too.
"And I suppose..." he starts to say, then hesitates.
"I used to think I knew what being in love felt like," she says suddenly, stopping him from continuing anyway.
He watches her closely, and prompts her when she doesn't continue. "Yeah?"
"Yeah. But I didn't...I mean, I'm sure at the time it felt that way, but looking back, I know that it wasn't anywhere near," she tells him. Without either really noticing, they had shuffled closer together at some point, and he's looking at her so intensely now that she flushes a little, and stands up to put some space between them. She walks over to the console and mindlessly fiddles with a button, one that she knows won't do any harm (it's just the radio, which he broke last week) but she fiddles away to give her something to concentrate on.
"How do you know?" he asks her. She doesn't reply. "Rose?"
No answer. He gets up then, and walks up behind her. She turns and is startled to find him standing so close to her; he's effectively trapping her between the edge of the console and himself, barely a couple of inches between their bodies. She shivers involuntarily, and looks away from his eyes, concentrating on the wall behind him.
"Rose?" he murmurs. In his oh-so-sexy-yet-completely-oblivious-to-the-fact way.
She purposefully ignores this.
Then a thought occurs to him. "Rose, what were you thinking about earlier? When you zoned out for half an age?"
She can't hide the fact that her cheeks are turning a rather intense shade of pink at that. But she still doesn't answer.
"Rose?" he repeats. A small smile is taking over his mouth as he watches her blush, and he's even more intrigued. "Rose?" he says yet again.
She can't take it anymore. She looks at him then; it would've been in the eye, but she's too distracted by his lips, so she settles for there instead. "This," she murmurs quietly, and proceeds to take his hands in hers and place one on her hip, the other on her back, before using her own hands to pull him forward by his jacket lapels and kiss him profoundly.
His eyes widen in surprise.
(But really, should he be so surprised? He's wanted to do this all evening, and he's been hoping for her to make the first move. He's rubbish at that bit, you see. But this bit, the participating bit...he's rather excellent at this. Let's be honest.)
He responds to her kiss unreservedly, and she can't believe it. She's been convinced this whole time that he'll pull away, make some excuses, then run away. But he isn't. He's kissing her back. Passionately.
And god is she glad he hasn't removed his hands. Quite the contrary, in fact. The one on her hip pushes her back roughly, so that she is now very much trapped between the console and him. It's delightful. And his hand on her back has pushed past the hem of her top and is now tracing delicious patterns on her skin.
She can't breathe.
He pulls back to let her inhale some oxygen, panting softly himself. "Rose, do you often have...thoughts like that?" he asks her teasingly, catching his breath.
She blushes and bites her lip thoughtfully. "Maybe..." she murmurs.
"That's a bit naughty," he replies.
"Mmm. But you love it," she retorts.
"So I do," he agrees.
"You know that I...I...sort of...I...oh god..." she stutters. "I... I love you."
"I love you too," he murmurs quietly, unable to stop the words falling from his lips in response to Rose's own admission.
Her mouth falls open in shock. "Really?"
"Completely."
Rose beams at him. "So, 'superior Time Lord senses,' you say?"
He grins back at her mischievously. "Yes..."
"Fancy showing me them put to good use?"
"Why, Rose Tyler, I think I do."
...
A/N: Please review? x