Work Text:
She knew she shouldn’t have let him drink. He wasn’t a Time Lord anymore, so of course, he didn’t have the alcohol tolerance that he used to, and really, she should have known better. He’d had a couple drinks, and apparently, that had been enough to do him in.
It was just a Christmas party, after all, and very mellow as far as her mother’s parties went. Being the lady of house certainly made her more extravagant. Rose was wearing a deep red dress that clung to her in a mermaid cut, and she’d convinced the Doctor to get into a tuxedo, though he had grumbled the whole time, complaining about it being unlucky, and that he was not going to make another tuxedo a Tux of Doom. She had just laughed and straightened his tie before kissing him on the nose.
Now, though, he was missing. Not missing in a way that made her worried, but just… Distracted. Which was normal for the Doctor, so she couldn’t say that she was exactly surprised. However, she did wonder what had caught his interest that was more exciting than her.
They hadn’t been back together very long, just a few months, but it was enough that she never wanted to be apart from him again. They shared a bed and kissed and cuddled, though they hadn’t gotten any farther than that. She knew there had to be some time for that, and she was willing to wait.
Every morning when they woke up and every night before they go to bed, he would whisper his love to her, so she had no doubt that he would actually say with her, like he said he would. She believed him in a way she never had before, and that was how she knew that he really was her Doctor.
During her ponderings, he came stumbling over to where she stood by the table of hors devours. He grinned at her in a way that would’ve been very disarming if he wasn’t so drunk, and stumbled right into her.
“Rose, I love you very much,” he slurred, his arm wrapped around her waist, nose near her ear, like he was trying to whisper in it but missed.
Well, at the very least, he was a charming drunk. She patted his chest. “I love you too, Doctor.”
He made a very happy noise. “I am so happy you do,” he said gravely, “That you chose to stay with me. I worry about that sometimes, you know. That maybe you don’t want to be here with me.”
She looked at him strangely. He’d never voiced this kind of insecurity before. “Doctor, of course I want to be with you, why would I want to be anywhere else?”
He almost spilled his drink but regained his composure, then just stared sadly down into the amber liquid. “I don’t have a TARDIS,” he said softly. “Can’t give you the stars.” He stroked his thumb over her cheek with his free hand, so they were now facing each other and he wasn’t next to her. “You’re my star now, so I have stars, but you… You don’t,” He said softly.
She smiled up at him and patted his chest. “Doctor, I want to be with you, not the stars.”
“Really?” His eyes grew soft and he looked like he might cry. She almost laughed but managed to bite it back, instead biting her lip and nodding.
“Yeah. You are a very sappy drunk, Doctor.”
“I am not drunk,” he protested, then stood up straight as though that action alone would prove it.
“So you’ll be fine going to see my parents then? I don’t think we’ve said hello to them since we’ve been here.”
“Yes, of course I can say hello to your parents. I am excellent with them, I’ll have you know, your mother has really warmed up to me.” He puffed out his chest and Rose decided that happy drunk Doctor was one she could tease him about tomorrow. She reached down and grabbed his hand, lacing her fingers with his.
“Well, come on then, we’d better go see them, don’t you think?” she asked, arching an eyebrow at him.
She dragged him along to where she knew her parents would be greeting guests, and tapped her mother on the shoulder.
“The Doctor’s already drunk,” She said by way of introduction. Her mother scowled and Pete laughed, reaching to shake the Doctor’s hand.
“Nice to see you, Doctor.”
“Nice to see you, Pete!” The Doctor said, his tone far too excited. “I love your daughter,” He then informed him gravely.
Pete smiled. “I’m happy to hear that, Doctor. She loves you too.”
He beamed. “Isn’t that brilliant.”
“Your cheeks are very red, Doctor,” Jackie informed him, crossing her arms. She turned to Rose. “Why did you get him drunk?”
Rose laughed and shrugged. “I honestly just lost track of him for a couple minutes. I think he just doesn’t realize his new tolerance isn’t as much as it used to be.”
“My tolerance is perfect, Rose Tyler,” the Doctor slurred. “I am very good at drinking.”
“You used to be very good at drinking,” Rose reminded him, “Now you have a human tolerance.”
Pete nodded in sympathy. “It really is terrible,” he said, his eyes twinkling. Rose had to smile.
“Merry Christmas,” She said, hugging her parents before reaching for the Doctor’s hand. “I’m going to embarrass you a little further, now.”
“You can’t embarrass me,” he told her, cuddling closer to her, even as they walked away from her parents. Rose had to bite her lip to keep from laughing, as he was still stumbling a little bit, but right into her. She liked when he was very touchy with her, when he couldn’t really get close enough. She especially loved when he was like that at the end of the night, when they were tired, cuddled up in bed together. He’d told her he didn’t want to waste a minute of the time they now had together, and he had meant it.
After telling most of their coworkers how in love with Rose Tyler he was, they ran into someone that Rose had very much hoped they wouldn’t run into. A young man with sandy blonde hair and dark eyes.
“Christopher!” Rose said, putting on her best fake smile. “Come on, I think it’s best that we head out, don’t you think, Doctor?”
Rose knew that the Doctor didn’t like Christopher. He’d very much fancied her and went on one date with her, but Rose hadn’t’ been able to go through with it. How could she, when every moment at work she was trying to get back to the Doctor?
She’d told him about it, because she didn’t want any secrets between them, but the Doctor had a jealous streak a mile wide, so it was best that Rose kept them far apart at all times. But now, with the Doctor’s inhibitions lowered, there was no telling what would happen.
“Rose, it’s good to see you,” Christopher said, smiling softly at her. “Really, it’s a pleasure to see you.”
“Yeah, you too,” Rose said, “But me and the Doctor are still making the rounds, so-”
“Ahh,” The Doctor nodded solemnly. “Rose thinks I can’t handle my drink anymore, sooo…. She’s probably going to take me to get a glass of water.”
“He can’t handle his drink,” Rose said, patting his chest. “Not his fault, really. But we’d better get going-”
“You should know that I love Rose,” The Doctor cut her off, planting his feet. He kept his arm slung around her shoulder. “I love her very much.”
“Ah, yeah,” Christopher rubbed the back of his neck, looking very uncomfortable. “I’m sure you do. You’re dating her, after all.”
“I’m not just dating her, she’s my soulmate,” The Doctor said, emphasis in his voice, as though it was the most important thing he’d ever said. “And you can’t tell her, but I’m going to ask her to marry me.”
Christopher’s lip twitched and he looked to Rose, “Congratulations.”
She laughed, feeling a little less uncomfortable since Christopher wasn’t acting awkward. “First I’m hearing about it. Come along, Doctor, we’ve still got people to see.”
Being the Vitex heiress, she had to pretend to be interested in talking with many different people, and once that was over, she decided she’d had enough fun embarrassing the Doctor. He told everyone they spoke to how much he loved her, and before the clock struck midnight she decided it was best to take a little bit of pity on him. She patted his chest and smiled at him. “Come on, then, let’s go home,” she told him as they headed out to the limo that had been pulled up for them.
“Are we going to shag?” the Doctor asked as he fell into the back seat.
She laughed and crawled in next to him, snuggling against his side. “Not tonight,” she said, “You need rest tonight.”
He pouted for a moment but was quickly placated by being able to have a cuddle with her. He hummed happily and cuddled up against her, wrapping both arms around ner and nuzzling his nose into her hair. Rose let her eyes fall shut as he slurred randomness into the top of her head.
When they got home, he got out and held his hand out for her. He never forgot her help her out of the car, and he tried to lead her up to the flat, even though clearly, she was leading him. She let him pretend to lead her all the way to their bedroom, where he kissed her softly, letting her take the lead with the kiss. She pushed his jacket off his shoulders and pulled back from his kiss. He pouted and tried to follow her, but she touched her fingers to his lips to stop him.
“Here, off with your clothes, we are going to sleep,” she said, emphasizing sleep so he wouldn’t think he was getting any more.
“Can we still cuddle?” He asked hopefully, focusing bleary eyes on her. “Because I really do love cuddling with you. I love everything about you.”
“I love you too,” Rose acknowledged, patting his chest. “Kit off, now.”
She got out of her evening gown and into a pair of her favorite fluffy flannel pajamas. She saw the Doctor trying to roll into bed in just his pants and stopped him. “Doctor, no, you need to put jimjams on,” she said, barely able to breathe, she was laughing so hard. “It’s cold, you’ll want to have clothes on in the morning.”
“No, I won’t,” The Doctor grumbled.
“Come on, up, I’ll kiss you again if you put some clothes on.”
He was up like a shot, but almost fell down twice before catching onto her and kissing her happily. She laughed against his lips and ran her hand through his hair. After several hot seconds she pulled back, giving him a glare before shoving a pair of his pajamas at him. It took awhile to get him dressed, and she practically tucked him in to bed before crawling in, panting, next to him.
“Rose?”
“Yes, love?”
“Um… I love you.”
“I love you too, Doctor.”
He reached over and touched her face. “Big spoon or little spoon?” He asked her.
She smiled at him. “I’ll be the big spoon,” She decided, “That way if you need to vomit you won’t try to crawl over me.”
He leaned over and kissed her before rolling over. She crawled up behind him, hooking her leg over his hip and wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Did I embarrass you tonight?” He asked softly, slurring as he started to fall asleep.
“No, Doctor. Every little girl dreams of a man who proclaims his love from the rooftops,” she leaned over and kissed his cheek. “And I have always dreamt of you.”
He hummed happily and tugged her hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss it. “I have loved you since I met you, Rose Tyler.”
She smiled, burrowing her nose in his neck. “I know,” She whispered, “I’m just so happy you can tell me now. No more hang ups, you know.”
“No more hang ups,” he said against her fingers, and she felt his breaths start to even out as he fell into a deep sleep.
She remembered what he said about marrying her, and crossed her fingers, hoping he would remember in the morning.