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The Doctor stifled another burp, regretting that third bite of amorphous gel that was touted to be able to imitate the taste of anyone’s favourite food. Despite his overly-full state, he hummed in satisfaction as his mouth was pleasantly filled with banana flavour. He frowned a little as, again, the aftertaste turned into a strange mix of celery and jelly babies, no doubt it was confusing his past regenerations, he might have to bring that up with the manufacturer. He was pulled from his musings by Rose excitedly rushing up to him, a huge smile on her face, and he took The Moment to appreciate how radiant she looked tonight, all dressed up, with her hair sparkling just like the stars they were surrounded by. But that smile outshone them all, and he was glad that she was enjoying herself at the Galactic Soirée of Bexal Fra’Grancis LXXXVIII. She deserved a little downtime.
“Doctor! You have to try this!” She gushed, pushing an approximation of a chocolate croissant into his hands.
“Oh, Rose I...” he glanced at Rose’s face, and matched her smile, “...would love to.”
Her eyes glittered with an inner glee as she watched him munch, crumbs spilling everywhere due to the flaky pastry. Rose giggled and licked her finger to pick them off his jacket with ease. She was obviously a seasoned veteran when it came to eating croissants.
“I can’t believe how good the food here is,” she exclaimed while popping the crumbs into her mouth. “You weren’t kidding when you said your friend was an ‘Earth food enthusiast.’”
The Doctor grunted, mouth full of croissant, and Rose snatched a glass of glowing carbonated liquid from a passing waiter to help wash it down. She moved off, spotting some other culinary delight that tickled her fancy. He swallowed his last mouthful and suppressed a burp, discreetly putting his hand on his rotund middle in the guise of brushing off some wayward crumbs.
Bex was quite the gourmand when it came to earth food, insisting on total authenticity when recreating Earthly delicacies. Of course, aliens had been living on Earth for quite some time before the Official First Contact and many popular human recipes included alien ingredients, or had been created by alien hands, unbeknownst to many. Except Rose of course. His eyes followed her as she moved about the room, on the hunt for some other tasty morsel for him to try. She seemed to have an endless delight in feeding him bite after bite of anything even vaguely familiar to her. She’d been bringing him snacks and titbits of this and that for the bulk of the party, and he was trying not to dampen her mood by refusing any of her offerings. He tried not to breathe too deeply, and thanked his respiratory system for being able to store oxygen.
His clothes were getting a little snug though, and even his heightened metabolism was struggling to digest everything in his first stomach, so that it could move onto his second to really draw out any nutrients. They would have to retire to a private room at some point, so that he could unbutton his pants in peace. Rose, however, seemed to have other plans. As something of an expert in Earthly food, she was able to hold her own in conversation about the ins and outs of Worcestershire sauce, if her animated conversations with Bexal were any indication.
The Doctor managed to down another fizzy drink, they were supposed to help with indigestion but it seemed he would need a double dose. Or a triple dose, he thought, as he spotted Rose holding a napkin with several colourful items resting upon it.
The “night” wore on, which was a funny thing to say in space, he thought to himself, as there was no day to contrast with the night. Space being an eternal night, and all. The Doctor had found an out of the way niche to hide in as he palmed at his swollen middle, out of sight of any prying eyes. He was cagey about showing such obvious weakness in a room full of beings he was largely unfamiliar with and the base instinct to hide so he could lick his wounds was difficult to shake off. He tensed as something rustled towards him, but relaxed when he recognised Rose’s perfume.
“Doctor! Look, I think I found jam scones!”
The Doctor turned around in time for Rose to hold one up to his lips, and he reflexively opened his mouth for her to push it in. She only intended for him to take a bite but he thought better of it and opened his mouth wider to swallow the scone whole, jam and cream included. Delighted, she wiped the jam and cream from the corners of his mouth and help another one. It was hard to say what was the straw that broke the camel's back, although seeing as that was the moment his respiratory system failed him and he inhaled, there may have been several factors involved. They froze at a dull popping sound, both of them widened their eyes at each other. The Doctor couldn’t help but notice her pupils were blown. Curious. He could only briefly wonder why, as his stomachs were freed from their buttoned confines.
“Oh my god, were those your pants?” She gasped, covering her mouth in shock.
“I may have... overindulged this evening...” he stage-whispered back, covering his midsection with his hands. The sudden relief made him close his eyes and sigh but they snapped open when a second pair of hands joined his.
“We should go to our room, let you lie down, y’know?”
They hurried out of sight to the Rest and Relaxation area, a section of the ship specifically designed for any overindulgers to digest their meal. Bex considered it a high compliment for his guests to use the rooms, a sign that they had enjoyed his food to their fullest capacity, and sometimes beyond that. The Doctor staggered in and made a beeline for the plush bed, gratefully sinking into it, and adjusting his pants so that they were not quite so uncomfortable, no shame in front of his Companion. Rose busied herself removing his shoes and jacket, placing them on a nearby chair and she snickered as he wriggled his socked toes at her. Not that he could see his toes anymore, he groaned in fullness and regret as he ran his hands over his stomachs. Meanwhile, Rose changed out of her gown and into the provided pyjamas, after some confusion on how to put them on, before sliding into bed next to him. He automatically moved to make room for her, and she snuggled up close under his arm.
“I can’t believe you ate so much,” she said quietly, mirth evident in her voice.
“You were having fun, I didn’t want to ruin it. Besides, I was bored.” He shrugged.
“Well, let me return the favour,” She said, while delicately placing her hand on the crest of the swell. “Just relax, let me take care of you.”
The Doctor buried his nose in her hair, inhaling the scent of her generic brand shampoo. None a more pleasant scent in the Universes. He sighed happily at her ministrations, the way she was thorough and gentle at the same time. His skin was slightly tougher than a humans so it would be difficult to hurt him anyway.
“Awfully good at this,” he mumbled.
“Mickey has an appetite too, but not as much as you,” she laughed. “His eyes were bigger than his stomach, and Mum loved to cook for him.”
“Mm,” he grunted in response, his mood soured slightly. He had really gotten off on the wrong foot with her. “My metabolism is faster than his, I’ll be fine in a few hours.”
“And then you can eat more?” Rose asked, as nonchalantly as possible.
“Well, I suppose.” He yawned. “Bex’s parties can go on for days. Not that we have “days” up here. Just until the food runs out.”
“Oh, good. Well. You relax, and we’ll see about tackling that chocolate fountain.” She bit her lip at the thought, it had been the size of an actual fountain and included cups to simply fill with chocolate and drink.
She rubbed at a particularly bloated part and he moved to burp out of her hair, so she put her head on his chest and listened to the beats of his hearts slow. It was interesting to compare Time Lord Biology, the feel of two full stomachs to a human’s solitary one, an experience she would relish. She discovered his surface temperature was also slightly cooler than she was used to.
She sat up, taking in the sight of a calm, relaxed Doctor. A rare sight indeed. Rarer still, the state of his stomachs. She adjusted her position, leaning down and planting a kiss on the bloat. It was only natural that her curiosity got the better of her, and she pressed an ear to the taught surface, listening intently to the rhythm of the gurbles and the rumbles. The Doctor was not the only one to overindulge that night.