A/N: Set in early series 2. Hope you enjoy! xx

The Taste Test

"That's the trouble, see. Now that I've changed, I've got to relearn all my favourites again. Favourite colours, favourite music, favourite films, favourite artists - "

" - favourite person?" Rose interrupted cheekily, tongue between teeth as she grinned at him.

"Nah, that one's obvious," the Doctor dismissed with a wave of a hand. Her grin widened. "It's always going to be Einstein. Such a good bloke. Bit thick; that theory of relativity lark was a lot down to subtle hints from me, you know," he shrugged, straightening his tie haughtily.

Her smile faded. "Right."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Oh, your face!" he laughed. "Fine, fine – you can have top spot. Weeelll. If I'm yours," he added thoughtfully, throwing her wink.

Rose ignored the fact that she was blushing, and tried to change the subject. "So, what about food? You still gonna like bananas an unhealthy amount?"

"Hey! Nothing unhealthy about liking bananas a lot. And yes, I should think so. But other food...ooh, that's tricky. Could hate all sorts that I liked before and vice versa. New taste buds," he explained, poking his tongue out and pointing.

She nodded, suppressing her laughter with pursed lips. "So, what makes bananas so special that they survive the new taste buds, then?"

"Inherent emotions towards certain things stay the same," he sighed, like it was obvious. "Hate Daleks, like bananas, love..." he trailed off, his eyes widening at his own words.

"Love what?" she prompted, arching an eyebrow at his flustered expression.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Oh, I don't know. Adventure? Trouble?" he sniffed, turning away from her to check the console screen needlessly.

She frowned briefly, but decided to let it go. "So, how're you gonna discover what your new favourite foods are?"

"Ooh, trial and error, I should think," he answered distractedly.

"That could be dangerous," she pointed out with a smile, wandering over to him and perching herself on the edge of the console, purposely invading his personal space.

He shifted closer to her subconsciously, fiddling with the console screen. "Weeelll," he drawled, going no further with his sentence.

"Well, maybe you should do a test, now, with what we've got in the kitchen. Could be fun," she shrugged non-committally.

"A test?" he echoed, turning his head to face her. He reached his arm around her to twist something behind her on the console, deliberately inching towards her as he did so.

"Yeah," she insisted, leaning ever so slightly into the brush of his arm against hers. "You know, to see what you like and what you don't like this time around...?" Rose explained exasperatedly.

"Yes," he pondered, nodding. "Yes, good idea. Would save an awful lot of time. Hmmm...to the kitchen!" he pronounced, holding out his hand for her, and Rose giggled and took it, jumping off the console.

~ / ~

Two hours later and the Doctor had tried every fruit he could possibly find, discovering that banana was indeed still his favourite and pears were his new worst. Next, he'd moved onto confectionary, and now...

Now, he was currently working his way through a hugely satisfying chocolate cake.

"Look Doctor, you've proved you like that, so let's move onto something else, eh?" Rose asked hopefully.

"Just need..." he paused scraping up another forkful and putting it into his mouth. "To make absolutely certain..." he swallowed. "That I like it."

"You're so annoying," she sighed over-dramatically. "I wanted some of that cake too, you know."

"Well, there's still a bit left. Come and get some," he offered.

Rose smiled hesitantly and stood up, shakily walking around the mass of food to kneel in front of him; they'd both been sitting cross-legged on the floor amongst the sea of delightful – and some not-so-delightful – delicacies for ages, and her legs had gone a bit numb.

She was about to take his fork out of his hands when he jerked it away.

"Let me," he muttered, scooping up some cake onto the fork. He raised it to her lips, which were quirking up in amusement. "Open up, then," he requested, when all she did was stare at him.

She cleared her throat and opened her mouth to ask him something. "Doctor, why - " but she couldn't get any further because he shoved the cake between her parted lips. Her eyes widened in surprise; even further once she realised just how gorgeous the cake was. "Mmm," she moaned in appreciation as she ate. "God, this is...oh, it's amazing..."

The Doctor watched her savour the chocolate cake with a strange feeling creeping up on him. He wasn't sure what that strange feeling meant, but it made him nervous.

Actually, he knew exactly what that strange feeling meant. And that was precisely why he felt nervous.

And when Rose kept 'mmm-ing' and 'ahh-ing,' he had this equally strange urge to taste what that chocolate cake tasted like mixed with Rose's lips. And possibly the inside of her mouth. Which was very odd, because he'd never felt the need to explore that part of her anatomy before.

Okay, so maybe that was a bit of a lie. There were several areas of Rose's anatomy he'd contemplated exploring, but he wasn't about to tell anyone else that fact. It was all extremely undignified, this business of wanting to kiss his companion, and very, very, very wrong.

She licked her lips then, and the Doctor gulped. "Nice?" he asked.

"Delicious," she answered, enunciating the word in a particular way that made the Doctor feel like he needed a lie down. And perhaps reconsider what his definition of 'very, very, very wrong' was.

"What would you like to try next?" she asked.

"You," he murmured, and then he realised what he said. The way her brow crinkled adorably in confusion gave him a clue that she was very suspicious that she'd heard him correctly. "Have. To try. This," he amended theatrically, making it look like that was what he was planning to say all along. He pointed to the Huroian bottle of drink on the floor to the left of them.

"What is it?" Rose asked.

"It's kind of like a milkshake. Only better."

Rose took a slurp of it. Which she spat back out. "That's disgusting!" she exclaimed, wiping her tongue on her hand to try and get rid of the taste.

"No it isn't, it's lovely!" defended the Doctor, picking up the bottle and examining it closely to avoid looking at Rose. In fairness, any other bloke might have been repulsed by Rose's unladylike behaviour, but he found it quite...well. Let's just say, he was even more interested in exploring her mouth now he'd just seen a glimpse of her tongue.

He himself then took a sip.

Which he spat back out. "Eugh! That's disgusting!" he echoed.

"See, I told you so," she retorted, with a roll of her eyes.

"I used to like that! It used to be quite tasty, nice tang on the tongue! Now it just tastes of rotten eggs!" he cried sulkily.

"Thank god you don't like it this time around. You'd be awful to k - " Rose began, then stopped herself abruptly.

"What?" he asked curiously, noticing her blushing cheeks. "I would be awful to what?"

"Nothing," she replied hastily. "What about this?" she offered, changing the subject. "This looks interesting." She held up a bowl of a reddy-orange mixture.

"Now that is Vellousion custard. Lovely!" he announced, reaching around Rose, who was still sitting in front of him, to get a spoon. He kept his gaze level with hers as he leaned forward a bit, trying to place the aforementioned cutlery.

He thought for a moment he must've imagined it when her breath hitched, but seeing as she'd done that earlier, too – when he'd done the same thing in the console room – he supposed it was highly unlikely that such an occurrence was coincidental twice, so allowed himself a small smile of victory.

He leant even closer, and broke her gaze by looking over her shoulder. "Where'd that spoon go?" he mumbled, not seeing it anywhere.

Rose blinked a few times, then realised something. "Ah."

"What?"

"I think...I think I might be sitting on it," she pondered.

"You 'think?' How can you not be sure if you're sitting on a spoon or not?" he retorted in disbelief.

She rolled her eyes and pushed him back a bit, so that she could get to her knees. Locating the spoon, she held it up for him. "Bet you don't want it now," she teased.

"Eugh, no," he replied. He took it from her and grinned, before throwing it over his shoulder without looking. She was impressed when she heard a clang as it fell in the sink. "I'll just have to use my fingers," he murmured, before dipping them into the gooey mixture.

Rose swallowed thickly, her eyes following the movement of his hand as he brought it to his lips and sucked.

"Mm, yeah. Still like this," he mumbled. "Try some." Rose shook her head, but the Doctor wasn't going to take no for an answer. He reckoned that by doing what he was about to do, he was going to be breaking all the rules.

But he also reckoned that he did not bloody care.

She wouldn't see anything wrong with this. He was the Doctor, and he knew she thought that this wouldn't mean remotely anything to him. No matter that she thought wrong, though; that was a good thing. It'd just occurred to him how much he could potentially get away with by simply passing it off as platonic and harmless.

Oh, he was so evil.

He dipped in his fingers again, before lifting them to her mouth this time.

"Seriously?" Rose muttered, more to herself than him. She couldn't believe he was practically asking her to lick the Vellousion custard off his fingers. His fingers that he'd just had in his own mouth.

"Yeah, go on, try it. You won't regret it," he insisted.

Reluctantly, Rose opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue, taking a long swipe of the mixture. "Mmm, you're right," she murmured, licking her lips. "Tasty."

The Doctor just sat still, gaping at her. For some reason, he'd failed to factor in the discomfort – or rather, very, very, extremely naughty but nice feelings – that he would feel when she actually did as he suggested.

"Doctor? Am I allowed some more?" she asked innocently, sensing his reaction and decidedly loving it, reaching for his hand again.

He swallowed hard, his throat dry. "Yeah," he croaked out. "Of course."

"Thanks," she smirked, before sucking the remaining custard off of his index finger.

The Doctor realised something, then.

She was so more evil than him.

He then seriously considered what in the name of chaos his last words should be to her if he melted his way into regeneration before her eyes right this very instant.

"This is gorgeous, this," she murmured thoughtfully, tongue darting out to catch a drop from the corner of her mouth. "What would you recommend to go with it?"

"Uh..." he floundered, mind blank as he watched her tongue studiously. "Fish fingers?" he suggested distractedly.

Rose raised her eyebrows, biting back a grin. "Right...So! What's up next? Doctor?"

The Doctor just continued to stare at her, not replying.

"Doctor?" she repeated, tilting her head closer to his, trying to jolt him out of his thoughts.

"Hmm?" he replied vaguely, his eyes searching hers.

"I said, what's up ne - " she paused, watching him lick his dry lips hesitantly, unable to continue with whatever she was saying.

"Rose," he said, voice low. He closed his eyes, squeezed them shut and took in a deep breath.

She sat very still, waiting patiently for his next move. Half of her resentfully thought that he would stand up and leave her sitting there, to get away from the intense situation. The other half of her was coiled in buoyant anticipation.

He opened his eyes again, and her shining, hopeful gaze undid him.

Forgetful of his sticky fingers, he reached his hands out, entwining them into her hair as he brought his mouth to hers.

After several long moments of participating in his new favourite activity, the Doctor pulled back to let her breathe. He looked into her eyes carefully, trying to judge her reaction. She had kissed him back, yes; but how did she really feel about it?

"Doctor," Rose murmured, slowly standing up.

He swallowed hard, guessing he was going to find out. "Yes?" he squeaked. He didn't much like the distance she had put between them, so he stood up too.

"Are you just...experimenting? Playing? Um...messing around?" she asked him, her teeth worrying her lip as she spoke. "Or...?"

"Or?" he repeated quickly, yearning to bring his hands to her waist but refraining; rubbing his neck nervously instead, to occupy one of his hands, at least.

"Or...or are you, er, I mean, is this...? Will this be...um..." she sighed to herself in frustration, not sure how to phrase her concerns. "Was that just you being silly?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Well, possibly. That depends, really."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"On what?"

"On what you want it to mean," he answered. "The...er...kiss, that is."

"Well, I don't mind," she said hurriedly. "It was...nice..."

"Nice?" He wrinkled his nose in blatant offence.

"More than nice," she relented, starting to smile. "You tasted like chocolate and custard. And...and...well, I dunno what else, but all this taste-testing of yours has resulted in a lovely combination." She neglected to mention the faint trace of rotten eggs; seeing as she had tried it too, the taste of the Huroian liquid was mostly cancelled out. And she wasn't one to want to ruin a 'moment.'

The Doctor equalled her grin. "Weeellll," he said smugly.

"So...was that kiss just part of the test? Something to tamper your piqued curiosity?"

"It was me being inherently me," he replied.

"Oh, I see," she giggled happily. "So...you wanted to kiss me before?"

"Yep," the Doctor smiled. "Hate Daleks, like bananas, love Rose," he continued softly, lifting his hand to stroke her cheek.

A lump came to her throat and she pressed her lips together firmly, telling herself not to be so sappy.

"Can I kiss you again?" he asked gently. "'Cos you know, that might be my favourite thing ever."

Rose beamed at him. "Oh, I dunno. Maybe that's something you haven't experienced yet..."

"Is that so?" he smirked, waggling his eyebrows at her as he leant closer.

"It is indeed so," she grinned, untying his tie as they kissed again.

He glanced down at her hands' movement and laughed shakily. "Perhaps, um, perhaps we should...vacate the kitchen, then..."

"Hmmm?" she replied innocently, eyes on his neck as she contemplated where to place her lips next.

"Well, you know. Hard floor versus soft mattress...not to mention, health and uh, safety reasons..." he gulped.

Her eyes flitted back to meet his and she couldn't resist the urge to tease. "That's a bit presumptuous of you, Doctor. I was only loosening your tie."

He gaped at her for a long moment. "Uh..."

Rose grinned and slid her hands into his hair. "Of course, your presumptions are often right," she shrugged nonchalantly.

"That they are," he murmured quietly, inclining his head towards hers once more.

Before their lips could connect, however, Rose dropped her voice to a tantalising whisper and said, "Bring the Vellousian custard."

And then she span out of his embrace, out of the kitchen, and down the corridor, leaving the Time Lord jaw-slacked and motionless, standing in the middle of the floor amongst the contents of the cupboards and fridge. He glanced down half-heartedly at all the mess, pondering only briefly whether he should tidy up first; certain things needed to be kept refrigerated, after all.

Then he shook himself out of that time-wasting idea, and just picked up the wonderful, edible creation that Rose had requested him to, before setting off on his mission to find her.