The Kiss

The kiss came from nowhere.

One minute, they were walking through a marketplace on a planet named Kazta as normal (i.e. holding hands and giggling.)

The next, he'd said her name to prompt her to look up at him, then bent his head down towards her and kissed her firmly on the lips.

She'd been too surprised to respond, and her surprise grew exponentially in the moments after he withdrew his mouth and pretended as though nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

She replayed their conversation in her head to assess whether she should've had some sort of clue as to what his following action would've been –

"You know, you humans are an interesting lot. A colony come to Kazta in the forty-third century. And what do you think they do? Introduce innovative industrial ideas – ooh, I like that alliteration, did you hear that? – or build buildings of...er, brick – damn, that one's rubbish...but anyway, my point is, they don't bring any of their culture to Kazta except one thing."

"That's good though, isn't it? I know certain countries in the Middle East are getting more Westernised and a lot of people see that as wrong, so humans shouldn't impose their culture on these people, right?"

The Doctor smiled. "You're right, of course. It's just odd, because really, humans do impose their cultures on a lot of planets in the future. But come on, back to my point. Guess what it is that they do, the colony of brilliant humans who arrive here!"

Rose shrugged. "No idea. Just tell me."

"Chips! Chips! They build a chip shop! Isn't that just...fascinating?" he enthused, swinging their hands between them.

She giggled brightly. "Yeah, it is. But we do make 'em good."

"Oh yes, definitely," he agreed. There was a brief, companionable silence. Then, "Rose?"

And that was when it had happened – BAM; he kissed her.

She didn't reckon she could pinpoint why he'd done so. Their conversation had been ordinary and casual. His kiss had been insistent and very, very random.

Why on Earth – or rather, Kazta – did he decide to spring a kiss upon her now, of all times?

She had previously imagined that she'd probably only ever get a snog off him if it was the very end of the universe and they were about to die or something.

So this postulation begged the question –

"Doctor?"

"Yeah?"

"Is the universe about to implode?"

"Nope," he replied cheerfully, popping the 'p.'

Oh. That theory went out the proverbial window, then.

"Doctor?"

"Yeah?" He looked down at her, his eyes warm and somewhat mischievous.

He was up to something, then – some sort of elaborate game. That must have been it.

"Why did you kiss me just now?" she asked calmly, keeping her voice steady.

He shrugged nonchalantly and squeezed her hand. "Felt like it," he answered, as if it were no big deal. She must have looked bewildered by this because suddenly his brows drew together worriedly. "You didn't mind, did you?" he asked her quickly.

She opened and closed her mouth for a few moments. His frown deepened, and she hastily cleared her throat to find the words to reassure him. "No, I, er...I didn't mind."

He beamed at her. "Good. 'Cos I'd like to do it again," he informed her quietly.

"When?" she asked, feeling a bit breathless with anticipation.

"Well, now, actually," he answered, and sought out her lips again, drawing them both to a stop in the middle of eager shoppers and busy stall-holders.

This time, seeing as she'd had a bit of prior notice, Rose most definitely kissed back.

(The Doctor made a small noise of approval of this fact in the back of his throat. It may or may not have been a moan.)

She let go of his hand to run both of hers through his hair.

(And that, that was definitely a moan.)

The Doctor seized hold of her hips and dragged her closer, keeping them pressed against one another as their kiss deepened.

However, they both pulled back sheepishly, breaking off their snog, when a chorus of wolf-whistles and 'oh, get a room!' comments surrounded them. Giggling, Rose bit her lip bashfully and watched the Doctor's awareness of the situation kick in.

"I think...I think that lad over there has the right idea, Rose," he said in a low, gravelly voice.

She arched an eyebrow. "What's that then?"

"Shall we...do you want...shall we find some sort of room?" he suggested, half-excited, half-nervous.

Her eyes widened. It must be Christmas somewhere, she decided. A slow, beautiful smile soon lit up her face. "Let's go home," she suggested, nodding in the direction of where they'd parked the TARDIS. She grabbed his hand and playfully whispered, "Run!"

He grinned, then did just that.

Eventually, the TARDIS came into sight, and they both laughed like school children as they raced to it. Rose hurriedly got out her key and started working the lock.

Which was unusually hard to do today, because for some reason, it was entirely necessary for the Doctor to press his front against her back and wrap his arms around her waist from behind. It was completely distracting.

As soon as the door opened, he gently pushed her inside and closed it firmly behind him, leaning against it. They looked at each other. Both looked a bit flushed and their eyes had definitely darkened in the last couple of minutes. They swallowed thickly, the air filled with a tension that both of them knew they'd be resolving pretty soon.

"Why now?" she murmured, needing to know.

"Why not?" he whispered back.

"Will you regret this?"

"Never."

"Are you sure?"

"Completely."

They both took a step forward. "But why now?" she persisted.

"Because I - " he swallowed the words and changed his mind. He couldn't tell her yet. He was too scared of what it meant, of what it would mean for her. "You're – I..."

"Yeah?" she urged him to finish.

"Well." He cleared his throat. "You're gorgeous," he admitted on an exhale of breath, starting to chuckle. "I've wanted - " He shook his head at himself, unable to get the words he wanted to say out. He took a deep breath. "It was such a random moment, but it was so perfect, Rose. Walking together, laughing, exploring with your hand in mine. I couldn't resist." He paused, took a step closer. His voice lowered. "I can't resist."

Rose smiled, and reached out her hand, splaying across his chest between his hearts. "Then don't," she said simply.

Her words were all the permission or encouragement he needed, for he instantly wrapped his arms around her and started kissing her again. Her hands came up between them to pull at his shoulders, drawing him closer. Then she eased out of the kiss and whispered in his ear, "Let's get that room."