2023 Tropes & Fandoms: Square: 50/Ladder - Positive Trope: Friends to Lovers

2023 MPF Tic Tac Toe: Square: Bottom Left - Prompt: Behind Closed Doors

Botanical Aphrodisiac Poisoning

Rose leaned against a coral column in the console room as she halfheartedly flipped through a magazine to waste a little time while she impatiently waited for her favorite alien to return. The Doctor had wanted to examine some peculiar flowering plant life that had surrounded the TARDIS as they had parked overnight after visiting the nearby town and its market. However, he did not know if it was dangerous for his human companion or not, so he had sent her back inside ahead of him.

That had been some time ago, though. In fact, Rose had decided that if he was not back by the time she finished her rag mag, she was going to find wherever Jack had wandered off to in the depths of the TARDIS and convince him to go and find their friend. After all, as both of her companions like to tell her in times of crisis, the ex-Time Agent's 51st century biology was a lot hardier than her meager 20th century genetic makeup.

Before she had to resort to that, however, she heard the TARDIS door open forcefully and a low, almost-growly voice sounded from behind her.

"Rose!" it exclaimed.

"Yes, Doctor?" she asked as she eagerly turned around only to find herself pinned up against the column by his hard body.

A shiver of anticipation shot through her as his mouth caught hers in a rough kiss. After all, she had waited for this exact moment for so long. However, even as the Doctor ravaged her mouth and her knees turned weak in response, she could still feel that something was wrong. After all, he had not even said a word to her besides her name.

"D...Doctor?" she therefore asked in confusion as soon as she could pull away from him a bit to breathe.

After all, she did not have a respiratory bypass system the way that he did. The man just uncharacteristically ignored her, however, and simply refocused his attention on her neck, instead.

Just a moment later, however, Jack reentered the console room only to find his two friends in quite the compromising position.

"Finally!" he exclaimed with sincere pleasure. "It's about time! I'll just leave you two alone then and…."

The Doctor simply ignored their friend's presence as he kept ravishing Rose up against the column, but the woman turned her head towards him and cried out, instead.

"Jack, no! Don't go! There's something wrong."

"Are you sure, Rosie? You two look awfully right to me. Unless you need a third, of course!" he asked hopefully. After all, it was no secret that he was extremely attracted to both of his shipmates, even though they only had eyes for each other.

Rose just shook her head frantically, however, as the Doctor leaned down and focused his attention to the parts of her collarbone that were exposed by the generous neckline of her top. "I'm not joking, Jack. Please! Look at him! Look at his eyes! This isn't really the Doctor. I think he's been drugged or something."

At the sound of her desperation, Jack rushed to the other side of the column to see the Doctor's wideblown pupils for himself. "Shit!" he exclaimed as he saw the tell-tale signs of extreme botanical aphrodisiac poisoning. "I'll go check the infirmary. I know the Doc keeps a lot of weird stuff in there. Hopefully, I'll be able to find a counteragent for sex pollen." He paused, though, and watched...fascinated...while the alien continue to kiss, suckle, and bite any bare flesh he could find on the pretty blonde. "Well…unless you want to…I mean…it's been my experience that these effects usually wear off fairly quickly in a more natural way. I know that you two've been dancing around it, so…"

"N...not like this." Rose pleaded in an almost agonized pleasure. "I want him in his right mind, Jack. Please! I just can't..."

Jack nodded in understanding and forcefully pulled his eyes away from the appealing sight the two of them made. "Then, I'm on it. Try to keep him calm. I'll be back as fast as I can."

Try to keep him calm. That's a good one. I can't even control myself at the moment. Rose thought desperately in reply.

In fact, she yelped with surprise and the pool of heat down low in her belly suddenly burst into an inferno when the Doctor shoved his hand up under her shirt first and then beneath her bra, as well, in order to knead the soft bare flesh there. The surprised sound turned into a groan of desire, however, when the attention focused on her sensitive nipples. The sound of her pleasure only seemed to motivate the alien further, however, as he settled himself firmly with singleminded determination between her thighs that automatically parted to allow him access.

"Oh gods!" she involuntarily cried out loud, then, as his crotch ground into hers making her quiver with a want and need that had been denied to her for far too long. Consequently, she knew that if Jack did not hurry up, she was going to lose it and say to the hell with the consequences as she let the Doctor have his way with her…right there in the console room. After all, she had certainly fantasized about the exact same scenario...and more...when she was alone in her room late during the sleep cycle.

Only the thought of his reaction afterwards, however, when he came back to his own mind and realized what he…what they…had done, made her able to fight the temptation to continue on such a pleasurable course. After all, she knew him well enough to guess he would be so upset with himself that he would probably take her back to Earth immediately in order to protect her.

She definitely did not want that to happen...not ever.

Fortunately, Jack was back before she could give in to the demands of her traitorous body. With the help of the TARDIS, he had found what he sought almost immediately…and had returned…syringe in hand. However, as he eyed the situation in front of him, and the state that his friends were in, he hesitated. After all, a surge of consuming desire had also infused him at the sight of them dry humping against the wall, so he could only imagine how Rose felt to be the recipient of that kind of special attention from their sexy Time Lord.

"Last chance to change your mind, Rosie," he declared thickly.

"Just do it, Jack!" the woman practically panted in desperation. She really could not take much more. After all, the tension from the friction was building and her body was going to respond very soon...right in front of both men...if he did not hurry. "Please!"

The man nodded and the syringe plunged down. As a result, the Doctor finally moved away from Rose, whom Jack caught before she could fall, as he roared in pain and frustration before he turned towards the interloper with clenched fists. However, before he could even reach the man who moved easily out of his way, the antidote hit his bloodstream and he collapsed against the console as his two hearts quickly circulated the cure throughout his system.

Therefore, in just a moment, the black desire in his eyes had given way to steel blue again, and the Doctor pulled himself back up into a standing position. He shook his head to clear it of the lingering fog as he looked back at his two companions in confusion. They stood close together, but Rose was extremely disheveled and she pulled her clothing back into place as she breathed more heavily than usual, almost as if she had been….

His eyes snapped angrily back to Jack, who understood immediately what the Doctor was thinking.

"Not me, Doc," he informed the man firmly and raised both of his hands to declare his innocence before he turned back to Rose. "I'm going to my room and give you guys some time to sort this out, okay?" he told her quietly.

"Thanks, Jack," she murmured, "for everything."

The man nodded again in understanding and patted her affectionately on the shoulder before he quickly strode out of the console room.

After all, he had to handle his own painfully pressing situation that had arisen when he had seen his friends in such a sexy situation.

As soon as the other man had cleared the area, the Doctor turned to look at the woman again in concern. "Rose?" he asked in such uncharacteristic confusion that she reached out automatically to comfort him.

As soon as she touched him, however, the memories of what had happened…the liberties he had taken with her…what he had almost done…surged through him and he jerked away from her in instant remorse. He looked physically ill and disgusted with himself as he moved immediately to the console and started to push buttons and pull levers in a pattern that Rose easily recognized. Unfortunately, she had been correct with her earlier prediction.

"Doctor, what are you doing?" she asked frantically...even though she already knew.

"I'm taking you back home to Jackie. You're not safe around me. Rose, don't you see? I hurt you!" He gestured at the love bites that covered her neck and chest before he continued with obvious self-hatred. "And I almost…I almost...took you…by force. What if it happens again? I may not be able to stop next time, so I just can't take the chance...not with you. No…you have to leave me. You're in danger from me!"

"No, Doctor!" she exclaimed, desperate to get him to see the truth. "I could never be in danger from you. You did absolutely nothing wrong. Even if we hadn't been able to neutralize that crazy alien sex pollen...or whatever it was that took control of you...even if you had continued..." Here she paused for a moment. "Doctor, look at me!" she demanded and she waited until steel blue met warm brown before she continued.

"Don't you see? It wouldn't have been rape. You wouldn't have forced yourself on me 'cause I...I would've been a willing participant. I know you felt my reaction to you, yeah? Therefore, you know that I liked it and I wanted it to happen. I wanted you." She paused for just a moment as she added a bit more quietly. "I've always wanted you."

When the Doctor did not respond and just stood there looking at her increduously, she sighed.

"I just wanted for it to really be you who wanted me, too," she continued in a sadly resigned tone, "not just whatever those plants were outside that made you act like that."

Her point was made...and the Doctor was no longer setting the dreaded course...so she turned around so she would not have to see the pity and rejection that she knew would be in his eyes after such a pathetic confession on her part. "At any rate, since that's not going to happen, I'll be in my room if anyone needs me," she stated as calmly as possible, given the circumstances.

However, she still took a moment to clarify her intentions. "Don't bother going back to London while I'm gone, either, because even if you land in the middle of Mum's bloody kitchen, I will not be getting off the TARDIS! I already told you that you're stuck with me and I'm going to keep traveling with you. Yeah, it'll probably be awkward between us for a little bit, but we'll eventually get over it and go back to the ways things were."

With those words, she walked away.

For his part, the Doctor could do nothing but watch her go as he tried to sort through the chaos that ran rampant through his normally logical and organized mind. Despite what Rose had said about it not being his fault, the self-recrimination was still there. After all, he knew very well that his advanced biology was more than capable of neutralizing most botanical aphrodisiacs - unless there was already a natural attraction in place that would serve to only strengthen the effect of the so-called sex pollen, instead.

The fact that he had practically devoured Rose, while completely ignoring the presence of Harkness, told him everything he needed to know about that situation. Truth be told, though, no matter how much he had tried to ignore it or convince himself that he was too ancient and too damaged for his fascinating pink and yellow human, he had been aware of his attraction and feelings for the woman practically since the moment he had grabbed her hand for the first time and told her to "Run!" In fact, his affection and desire had only grown even stronger from there as he continued to discover just how fantastic she really was.

Consequently, no matter what she thought, it was indeed most definitely his fault that the pollen had taken over his functions so easily.

In fact, even in the midst of the realization of his guilt, he could not get the thoughts out of his head about how sweet her skin had tasted under his mouth or how soft certain parts of her had felt under his hands. He also remembered the sounds of pleasure she had made at the time, as well, the gasps and moans that indicated that she had enjoyed what he was doing to her despite the dubious consent involved.

I've always wanted you, she had just told him...and suddenly he believed her.

His body, still reacting to the memory of her pressed beneath him responded even more viscerally to the memory of her heartfelt words as an unexpected feeling of hope also broke through his recriminations.

"Rose, wait!" he called out to her before he had even realized that he had spoken aloud.

Rose paused at the sound of his voice, but did not turn. Therefore, the Doctor made short work of the distance between them with his long strides before he placed his hands on her shoulders and gently turned her around himself.

"Rose, I..." he started to say that he did need her and that he definitely wanted her, as well, but when he caught sight of those deep brown eyes that were filled with so much more feeling for him than he could have ever hoped for...along with the slightest hint of tears...the rest of his words just would not come. That turned out to be for the best, however, because Rose had already apparently searched his face in order to find the answers she needed.

Consequently, when his hands automatically reached up to tenderly touch her face, she reacted by launching herself completely into his arms. It was then that he realized that his lips were suddenly far too busy to speak, anyway.

Even though he had the halfhearted thought that he should stop things before they went too far, he sensed that it was already too late for that. They were past the point of no return...and he could not bring himself to be too upset about it. After all, Rose just felt so right in his arms. He did not think that he could ever go back to not having her there. He also desperately knew that he did not want things between them to return to the way they had been: so very carefully distant and chaste.

Despite those thoughts, however, he was still surprised when this time around he felt her hands slip beneath his jumper to caress the firm musculature there. Then, when a sound of almost primal pleasure filled the space between them at her touch, he realized with some shock that it had come from him!

At his reaction, however, Rose just smiled up at him with that special tongue-touched gesture that never failed to get both of his hearts racing.

"Let's take this somewhere more comfortable...where Jack won't walk in on us again...yeah?"

"Yeah!" he replied hoarsely, even as he vaguely wondered where his usual impressive vocabulary and the resulting gob had gone.

Rose did not seem to care about his temporary lack of language skills, though. In fact, that one word was all she needed to hear before she grinned again, took his hand, and ran with him towards the bedroom corridor.

Her room was first. Therefore, once they reached it, Rose gleefully pushed him in and paused only to shut the door firmly behind them before she leaped back into the Doctor's arms with a body that practically buzzed with anticipation. After all, since they were completely alone and secure behind closed doors, they could finally continue...and actually finish...everything that had been so eagerly started earlier in the console room.

Not only that, but they could also acknowledge...with both their words and bodies...those feelings that had been simmering between them since their first meeting in that department store basement when they had been surrounded by homicidal shop dummies...before their emotions had erupted into a full boil with the assistance of a little so-called sex pollen.

...

Thank goodness for botanical aphrodisiac poisoning!

The stray thought manifested in the tired Doctor's mind later as his arms tightened around the beautiful human who, also completely worn out from their amorous activities, slept soundly with her head on his chest while her blonde hair splayed in every direction. He knew it was the truth, too. After all, without the aggressive push that the questionable substance had given him, he did not know whether he would have ever given in to his feelings for the woman...or have given her a chance to return them with her own, either.

Look what we would have missed out on, then!

In fact, the Doctor was so happy and comfortable wrapped up with Rose Tyler on her bed that he could only bring himself to groan lightly when his very next thought was about what Harkness was going to have to say about the whole situation. Nevertheless, despite the knowing remarks and teasing that they were both sure to receive from the man, the Doctor still knew that he owed Jack dearly. After all, the former Time Agent had helped to stop his earlier primitive behavior...so that things could progress in a more natural and positive way with full and hearty consent on both sides...which had in turn paved the way for the wonderful new understanding that he shared with his Rose.

Therefore, the Doctor thought that he might show Jack his appreciation by dropping him...along with an unlimited credit stick, of course...for as long as he liked at one of those popular interstellar beach resorts that the man talked about so much. After all...so many aliens, so little clothing...was almost like a personal challenge for the dance-loving bloke.

The idea was even more appealing when the Doctor realized that such a reward for Jack would also mean an even bigger bonus for himself. After all, he and Rose could then be alone for as long as they might possibly desire to explore their new relationship, which - especially with a magnificent time machine at their disposal – could turn out to be a very long stretch, indeed!

His vague plan then solidified into certainty when Rose stirred gently in his arms and gave him a sleepy version of his favorite tongue-touched smile before she leaned up to kiss him lovingly. At that moment, the Doctor felt his hearts swell with a happiness that he knew he surely did not deserve, but which he was equally positive that he was never going to voluntarily relinquish.

Consequently, he mentally upgraded Jack's reward into an entire beach resort planet before he rolled over to cover Rose's body with his own in order to return her kiss...and to show her again exactly how much she meant to him!