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The Doctor was not his usual, animated, ebullient self. In fact, he was acting the complete opposite of his usual self. His hands were shoved in his pockets, his head was down, he was scowling, and he was fairly stomping back to the TARDIS. Rose was perplexed, but didn’t know what to say. She just followed along silently, pondering his odd behavior.
When they reached the TARDIS, he let them in, then went to the console without a word and dematerialized them - once again, without his usual flair. Rose just stared at him, utterly perplexed by the way he was acting. Once the TARDIS had stopped lurching and they were presumably in the Vortex, he spun on his heel from the console and started towards the corridor, leaving her behind.
“Doctor, wait!”
“No time, Rose. I need to – do something.”
She rushed to catch up to him, pulling on his arm. “Doctor, wait,” she repeated.
He stopped but didn’t look at her. She tried to get in front of him, but he wouldn’t meet her eyes.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing,” he lied. “I’m fine. Brilliant. Molto bene. Tickety boo.”
Rose narrowed her eyes. “I don’t believe that. What’s gotten into you?”
“I just told you –”
“You just told me a lie. Why don’t you try telling me the truth?”
He set his jaw mulishly, still not looking at her, and Rose crossed her arms, blocking his path. “I’m not leaving you alone until you tell me.”
“There’s nothing –”
“Don’t lie to me, Doctor. I don’t lie to you, you don’t lie to me.”
The Doctor gritted his teeth, his expression darkening, but Rose didn’t back down. Finally, he looked at her, his eyes flashing angrily. In a quiet voice, he said, “You didn’t have to kiss him.”
“Kiss who?”
“Oh, have there been so bloody many that you don’t remember? That’s lovely to know, Rose, thank you.”
“Are you talking about Rogal?”
His expression turned mocking. “Yes, I’m talking about bloody Rogal.”
“But… he said it was a traditional goodbye gesture. I didn’t see the harm in it…”
“Well of course you wouldn’t see the harm in it, you were too busy snogging him!”
Rose snapped, putting her hands on her hips and now her brown eyes were flashing with anger. “How dare you?”
“How dare I? I wasn’t the one who kissed a Erashite prince just now!”
“No, but you kissed a French courtesan, in case you’ve forgotten! I sure haven’t.”
The Doctor stammered, his expression completely shocked. “That was… I mean, I wasn’t…”
“What, you weren’t thinking when you snogged that tart and then danced with her?”
“I didn’t dance with her, Rose. Not in the sense you’re thinking. I simply… danced with her.”
“My point still stands. You have no right to be jealous.”
“I’m not jealous!”
That hurt more than she wanted to let on. She recovered quickly though, and sniffed, crossing her arms. “Could have fooled me. But don’t worry, I understand how it is now. You’re allowed to make out with whoever you want, and I’m just supposed to keep my hands and lips to myself while you shag your way all over time and space. A perfect double standard. Brilliant. Thank you for informing me.”
“I do not shag my way all across time and space!” he shouted angrily.
“Well not for lack of trying!” she shot back. “But at least now I know. And I regret to inform you that two can play at that game. So I’ll be kissing aliens left and right now, ta.”
He looked furious, in some realm well beyond angry, but Rose didn’t care. She was just as angry, if not more. Her anger had her saying things she didn’t mean, couldn’t ever mean, but she couldn’t care about that, either. She didn’t know who the hell he thought he was –
That was as far as her thought got before he growled, grabbed her by the shoulders, pushed her up against the nearest coral strut and pressed his lips against hers, kissing the breath out of her. She was shocked for just a moment, caught completely off-guard, but finally melted into the kiss and oh, yes. This was what she’d wanted for ages - since before he changed and became a new man. She’d always wanted him to kiss her this way, and the fact that he was now was absolutely intoxicating.
His lips slid against hers, parting them, and she felt his tongue brush against hers. She’d have gasped, if she’d had the breath to do so, but instead she just clutched him tighter to her and sent her own tongue into his mouth to explore.
Seconds (or minutes, or hours) later, he broke the kiss and pulled back, looking down at her from very close, their noses almost touching, his breath cool against her wet lips. Her eyes fluttered open to find his eyes still flashing.
“The only alien you’re going to be kissing is me. Do you understand me, Rose? You’re mine, and I don’t share.”
“I don’t either,” she told him cooly, despite the way her nerves were rioting under her skin. “If you’re going to be kissing me, you’re not going to be kissing anyone else. If I’m yours, you’re also mine.”
“I always have been, precious girl.” He kissed her again, softer and sweeter this time, a kiss that sealed promises between them - promises both agreed to and unspoken. Rose felt her knees go wobbly beneath her, but his strong arms were holding her up, keeping her steady. She carded her fingers through his hair, scratching his scalp lightly, and he purred into her mouth.
When the need for oxygen was too great, she pulled back and inhaled great lungfuls of air. The Doctor set about pressing kisses all over her face, covering her cheeks, her nose, her eyelids, and Rose smiled under the attention.
“I’ve always wanted you to do that,” she confessed.
“I’ve always wanted to do it.”
“Yeah?”
“SInce Charles Dickens in 1863.”
She smiled again, and he pressed a short kiss to her lips. “Maybe a little jealousy was just what we needed?”
He snorted. “I don’t like being jealous. Nasty, human emotion. But yes, I suppose in this case, it had it’s use.”
She kissed him lightly to reassure him that he had no cause to be jealous - not anymore. “So what now?” she asked.
“It’s up to you, Rose Tyler. What do you want to do?”
Her tongue came to the corner of her mouth and her eyes twinkled. “I want to discover what a Time Lord’s bedroom looks like - and maybe not leave it for several days.”
He gave her a wicked grin. “Several days? I don’t intend to let you leave for several weeks.”
Rose beamed up at him. “Lead the way, Doctor.”