Note: Yes, I know this is domestic beyond belief. But ironically, Nine is the only guy I can imagine that would do it, especially if Rose was involved. It's not like he's going to let some other dude do that with her either ('Journey's End,' you say? Never heard of it). Plus, I'd like to think that secretly, he enjoys it XD.

Where's the cocoa powder? Ah, there you are, the Doctor mumbled to himself.

Alright.

Earth eggs.

Check.

Granulated and brown sugars?

Check.

The Doctor rummaged his way through one of the kitchen drawers, moving utensils to and fro and finally managed to find his favorite whisk that had a whimsical penguin decoration on its tip.

"Aha!" he yelled triumphantly and proudly kissed its handle. He placed a metal bowl in front of him and expertly cracked an egg into two, using both shell pieces as strainers to separate the yolk from the whites. Placing the unbroken yolk into another mixing bowl, he repeated the motion till all eggs were used up.

He whistled a jaunty tune to pass the time as he used his whisk to whip up the remaining whites into a frothy meringue. Finally, he added a little bit of cream of tartar to hold it in place.

Perfect peak formation.

Fantastic.

The Doctor mused as he inspected his work.

What was all the fuss about, you ask? Well, he'd kept tally (in Earth days) of how long Rose had been travelling with him, and it turned out to be exactly one year. Which meant that apart from their first anniversary as travelling companions, sometime in between his Rose had turned twenty years old. And he wanted to make this day very special for her.

He had it all planned out in his head. He was gonna take her to a carnival planet full of games and rides, followed by what he was hoping to be a romantic sunset picnic by the ocean-side. And finally, when the sky turned dark and was full of twinkling stars, he would surprise her with his angel birthday cake with a special candle that lit the flame in seven alternating colors that he'd gotten from Barcelona (the planet, not the city).

That's why he was preparing his cake when he knew Rose was asleep after their last adventure. He made sure to make her run a lot so she would be tired. Mentally, he patted himself for a job well done. She was out like a light last time he checked around a few hours ago. And what a sight she was. All snuggled up under the covers, her hair was wild and unkempt and she was drooling slightly out of her open mouth. Still as beautiful as ever, he had thought.

Alright. Let's see. Traditional Angel Food cake requires vanilla essence, however I'm going to use rose instead.

He opened the cupboard above his head, but didn't find the small bottle. At this point, he dropped the spatula he was using to fold together the wet and dry ingredients into the mixing bowl and checked the nearby drawers instead, but to no avail. Feeling frustrated, he began rifling through every nook and cranny, opening any doors he could see to find that blasted ingredient.

It was a shame that he didn't realize what a din he was causing whilst he was on his search. Rose who, up until then was asleep in her room, woke up to the sounds of metal pans crashing into the floor followed by a muffled curse.

"Doctor!"

She jumped out of bed, frantic that he might have hurt himself doing who knows what and ran down the hall towards the kitchen.

"Doctor? Wha's going on here?" she asked from outside.

He froze.

Oh no.

This simply wouldn't do.

He wildly ran outside of the kitchen only to bump into the very woman he constantly thought about.

"ROSE! F-fantastic to see ya up and about…al-already?" he stammered, forcing out a laugh in his attempt to play cool.

Realizing that he was somehow holding a measuring cup, he hastily shoved it into the pocket of his apron.

"I heard something crashing and it woke me up. I thought you were in trouble and came to make sure you were alright," she said confusingly.

Just what was he doing in there?

"Wait…don't tell me. Were you actually baking something? You know how to bake?" Rose asked with a small smile.

"No, I was making tea Rose. You know, for when you wake up. Didya know that tea is full of tannins and free radicals? Great for the synapses. Good stuff, that tea."

Rose walked up to him to brush off a streak of white powder on his cheek. "Hmm-hmm, and since when does tea have flour in it?"

She looked up at him mischievously, tongue touching the side of her teeth in a way that made his stomach flip flop in the most pleasant of ways.

"Secret family recipe," he replied with what he was hoping was a convincing wink.

Rose humored him. If the flour wasn't a dead giveaway as to what he was doing, the apron sure as hell was. Her flustered Time Lord did have a knack for missing the obvious at times. She laughed inwardly, remembering the London Eye incident of '05. Although she had no clue what was going on in that big genius brain of his, by all means, she was going to let him have his fun. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to ask him about it later.

Rose rolled her eyes affectionately and raised herself up to his height. She placed both hands on his shoulders and pressed a lingering kiss near the corner of his mouth, marveling at the softness of his cool skin. And as she moved back, she watched the way the Doctor's mouth was left gaping open like a fish, and the fact that he was practically blushing beetroot red, before heading back out into the hall giggling madly to herself. Meanwhile, the Doctor walked back to the kitchen in a daze with a goofy grin on his face.

The next day went as planned, shockingly enough. There were no barbarian rulers, nor meetings of old enemies to be seen. The Doctor was quite apprehensive that another evil plot would somehow disturb his plan, but it looked like even the TARDIS was supporting him for once, and thus she decided to take them to carnival planet Xinbar in the year 3589, where it was peaceful in that part of the timeline. "Thanks, old girl," he spoke gratefully to his ship and patted the console. She hummed back affectionately. It seemed that she was quite fond of her human as she was of her Time Lord.

The carnival planet had some fantastic game stalls, even though he wasn't a big fan of their roller coasters, much to his embarrassment. He prayed that Rose wouldn't tell Jackie about how he may have yelled in a rather manly manner on those devilish rides ("Hah! You were shrieking like a four year old school girl!" Rose guffawed). Yup, she was never going to let that one go. The Doctor shuddered.

Then there was the incidence with that halfwit pretty boy that tried chatting Rose up. Things went much better after the lad ran for the hills from his Oncoming Glare with Rose confused as to what the heck happened. All in all, she had fun in the end and that was all that mattered to him.

During their picnic, Rose had shuffled up right next to the Doctor and they chatted away as they ate their turkey sandwiches with salad on the side. And when it finally got dark, she wrapped her arms around his soft jumper-covered arm and snuggled into him, placing her head on his shoulder and sighing in pleasure. Seeing Rose glowing and happy under the moonlight, the Doctor sincerely believed that he would die a happy man right now if he got hit with a lightning bolt from the heavens.

"Rose, there is something I wanna give ya, but you haveta wait here, alright?" The Doctor asked gently.

"Of course, Doctor."

He got up and ran towards the TARDIS that was parked a couple meters away. He came back holding a box. He sat down in front of Rose and opened it to reveal the cake he made for her earlier. Rose gasped. It was gorgeous, with soft whipped cream and silver glitter sprinkled liberally all over. The Barcelonian candle glowed in various colors which delighted her to no end, making the Doctor's grin even wider than he thought possible.

"Blow the candle and make a wish, Rose. Happy belated birthday."

"Oh, Doctor. This is what you were working on before? It's absolutely beautiful!"

She blew on the candle and sniffled. Worried, the Doctor gathered her in his arms and asked, "Rose, why are you crying?"

"It's just that…just that no one's made me a cake before. Mum never baked sweets and Mickey never cooked full stop. You don't know how happy you've made me, Doctor."

She hugged him tightly, amazed that this incredible man even existed. She must have done something good in her previous life for the fates to be this kind to have him in her life.

"Anything for you, my Rose."

He didn't stop himself when he brought his face close to hers. He didn't stop from kissing her forehead and the tip of her nose. And he certainly didn't stop from hovering his lips over hers.

"Doctor," she whispered in anticipation.

"Rose," he breathed before they finally pressed their lips together.

Rose brought her arms around his neck and scraped the base of his close-cropped hair while he wrapped his arms snugly around her waist and brought their bodies close together, leaving no room for air. He sucked on her lower lip, reveling in the sweetness that was purely Rose. After several minutes of intense kissing, Rose had to break away to breathe.

"Respiratory bypass system helps you out a bit, I bet," Rose gasped, while the Doctor stared at her.

"Just a tad."

He didn't tell her that he was actually having difficulties himself because he couldn't believe that he finally kissed his girl!

"By the way, Happy First Anniversary Doctor."

"Wait…you knew?" he asked, astonished.

"Yeah, the TARDIS helps me keep track of the days when I ask her. I honestly forgot my birthday, but not this day. Never the day when we first met."

She smiled shyly.

"Oh, Rose. You are incredible."

He kept their bodies plastered together as he covered his lips with hers once more, cake forgotten for the time being.

Note: Not really sure what traditional Angel cake essences used are. Apologies for any inaccuracies. Take care folks!