A/N: Here is the first date for Rose and John.

"So, where's he taking you on your date?" Clara asked as she sipped her tea.

Rose smiled widely. "A picnic."

Clara returned the smile. "Ah! You love picnics."

The blonde nodded and looked down at her teacup. It had been two days. Two days since the explosive kiss in the hallway. Two days since John completely upended her life by confessing his feelings to her.

Feelings that she had yet to confess back.

It wasn't that she didn't want to. She so did. But she was still scared. What if things didn't work out between them? She'd lose John completely. And that was the last thing she wanted. She was content to just have him as a friend, as she had done for years.

Yet, the thought of John with anyone else made her blood boil.

Clara watched her friend. She was elated that her brother finally got his head out of his ass and confessed, though she was surprised at how…explosive the kiss was. Rose had been forthcoming, at Clara's pestering, at how strong his lips were, how his body melded against hers, how…large and prominent he was.

At that point, Clara changed the subject.

She wasn't stupid. She knew her brother had been laid in his life. She didn't know the details; didn't need to know. But he came home from college one weekend completely relaxed. She had suspected then.

It annoyed Clara, actually. She knew how her brother felt for Rose, even if he had buried the feelings by then. And she secretly wanted her best friend to be her brother's first. Not realistic, she knew, but she was a romantic. She saw it as they would get together in college and then ride off into the sunset together.

She chuckled to herself.

Rose glanced up at the brunette. Clara had been telling her for years how her brother felt. Rose denied it because of her insecurities. There was no way someone good like Dr. John Smith, veterinary science doctor and part-time model, would fall for her.

Now to find out that he had, changed Rose's life.

"Clara, why did I never believe you when you told me?"

"Because you're stubborn."

Rose gave her friend a shocked look. Clara laughed. "Am I wrong?"

The blonde shook her head.

"I've told you for years. Hell, he's told you for years, even when his feelings were buried. You remember prom."

The model nodded. Rose had gone with Christopher to prom. John went stag, but kept trying to steal Rose's attention from her date. He danced goofily, waving his arms in the air, and kept cutting in during slow dances. Back then, she thought he was just being a protective friend.

"It makes sense now," Rose said as she sipped her tea.

The brunette nodded. "Even buried, he was always obvious with his feelings." Then Clara delivered the final blow. "Why do you think he only ever dated blondes?"

Dr. John Smith had outdone himself. Rose looked at the scene in front of her.

A black-and-orange plaid blanket, representing her favorite time of year, lay sprawled on the grass. A huge picnic basket off to the side, with John pulling things out of it. She wondered if the basket was bigger on the inside, as it seemed never-ending. He pulled out paper plates and plastic silverware, napkins, fried chicken, coleslaw, deviled eggs, cookies and two plastic champagne flutes. He popped the cork of champagne and handed one glass to her.

She smiled and took it, watching him.

He took a long swig of the liquid. She watched as his Adam's apple bobbed as he drank it down. She wanted so much to suck on that and then on his neck.

John turned and tapped his phone as some music began playing. Rose smiled at him.

"John," she said quietly as she sipped her drink, "you didn't have to do all of this."

"Of course I did, Rose." His green eyes glittered at her.

He turned to the container of chicken and began plating it. "You deserve the best."

She smiled and placed her hand on his arm. He glanced at her. "Thank you."

He leaned forward and kissed her gently. The taste of champagne still lingered on his lips. "Thank you for agreeing to a date." He busied himself with the food. "I wasn't sure if you would accept."

She took her plate and immediately stabbed at the coleslaw. "Of course, I would."

John stuck a deviled egg in his mouth. "My jealousy had gotten the best of me," he said. "I thought you were falling for Saxon."

The blonde sighed. "I know. I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "You're with me now, Rose Tyler." He snuck a quick glance at her and popped another deviled egg into his mouth. She laughed. "You're stuck," he said in between the food.

He presented the goofiest smile to her that she had ever seen. Rose put her plate down because she was laughing so hard.

The Rose Tyler laugh was the most beautiful sound in the world to him. He wanted to hear it all the time.

They fell into an easy silence as they ate, commenting occasionally on things. This seemed just like them as friends: no tension, no confusion. This is why Rose was convinced this would work. They had been friends for so long that this was the next logical step.

Once they had finished, she offered to clean up. He accepted the offer and watched the woman of his dreams as she neatly re-packed the entire basket. At one point, she even forced him off the blanket so she could shake it out. Then she laid down on it to look at the clouds.

He joined her, taking her hand.

Now she was nervous. After that big kiss, nothing much had happened. She wanted something to, god did she. But she was afraid to cross that line. Again, her fear of losing him completely resurfaced.

John squeezed her hand. "What are you thinking about?" He turned his head towards her.

She repeated the action. "Us. What if this doesn't work out?" He glanced away. "I'll lose you."

John's green eyes snapped back to her. "That will never happen, Rose Tyler. And who's to say that we won't work out?" He scooted closer, until he was hovering over her, and stroked her cheek. "I've loved you for years. I can handle anything."

The blonde smiled and just stared into his eyes for a while, not saying anything. He seemed content to do that as well. Slowly, she brought her hand to his face and gently stroked his cheekbone. His eyes closed.

"Your touch feels amazing," he said quietly.

"I've wanted to do this for a long time," she confessed. He opened his eyes slightly.

"Feel away."

Rose spent the time exploring her best friend's face, now that she could. She watched as his eyes once again fluttered closed and observed his Adam's apple bob. She heard the breath hitch and felt the increase in his pulse as she familiarized herself with him.

When he re-opened his eyes, they had darkened. She swallowed. She knew that look. It was the same one he had that morning when their friendship changed forever.

Slowly, he leaned his head down and brushed his lips with hers. She reciprocated immediately and he grew stronger against her. He released her hand and found purchase on her left hip, while his right hand wound its way into her hair.

They laid like that, on the fall-themed blanket, exploring each other's mouths for some time. They touched and tasted, groaned and gasped, as they learned what the other liked.

At one point, he pulled back but rested his forehead against hers.

"Rose," he said quietly.

Her blood was on fire. No one had ever done this to her before. And she knew why. She decided it was time.

"I…I love you," she said.

He looked into her cinnamon eyes. Then he smiled. The one thing he wanted more than anything was coming true.

"And I love you, Rose Tyler." He kissed her again. "So much."

She stroked his cheek and pulled him back to her for another kiss. He gladly obliged as his erection pressed deeper into her. She rubbed against it to get friction. He groaned as he deepened the kiss. She ran her hands through his floppy hair and down his chest, feeling the muscles through his green sweater. He ground against her, harder as their passion increased. She continued her path south and placed a hand over the lump that formed in his jeans.

Throwing his head back, he groaned again. "We should stop," he said, his voice strained. She moved her hand to the side. He kissed her forehead. "You deserve to be made love to like a lady, not like some horny teenager who can't get enough."

Smirking, she placed her hand back over his clothed erection. He hissed and moved it back to the side. "Maybe I want to be that horny teenager," she said.

He dropped his head and slowly, reluctantly, pulled away. "Rose," he groaned out. "You have no idea how hard it is for me to resist you now. But it's best we stop. You deserve a bed, not a blanket."

She sighed. John was right. She watched as he poured another glass of champagne into the flute and handed one to her. She sat up and drank it, trying to calm her nerves.

He turned to her and caressed her cheek. "I promise, we'll have sex soon. I won't be able to resist you much longer." She chuckled. "I may have years of practice at it, but my resolve is quickly crumbling."

She smiled and placed a quick kiss at his temple. "Thank you for caring enough to want to make it special."

John returned the smile. "Anytime, Rose Tyler." He glanced at his watch. "We should get going. I want to work on a report for Monday and Clara said that if I kept you from your girls' night, I would regret it."

Rose threw her head back and laughed. "And knowing your sister, she's serious."

"Indeed."

The lovers cleaned everything up and walked back to the car, hand in hand. Once the items were stowed, John turned the beautiful blonde and kissed her again. It was a hard, passionate kiss with the promise of more in the future.

Repeating her earlier action, she placed her hand over his clothed erection and squeezed gently. He growled in her mouth.

"Tease," he said, his green eyes opening and showing their arousal.

Using her famous tongue-in-teeth movement, she gave him the widest smile possible and squeezed him one more time.

"You're going to be the death of me, John Smith."

He slowly pulled away and turned to let her into the car. "Oh Rose. I'm just getting warmed up." He threw her a sultry look that immediately caused her to soak her panties.

She gulped and stepped into the car.

On the way home, she realized that while it seemed like things were moving fast, they had been leading to this moment for years. It felt comfortable. It felt safe.

It felt right.

Rose Tyler, and John Smith. As it always should have been.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed that.

Next chapter will be their first fight. Don't worry, all works out in the end.

Thanks for reading!