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It was Rose's birthday, and Nine was planning a surprise for her.
He delicately woke her up and told her to close her eyes before they got out of the Tardis. She thought The Doctor forgot about the date, and he was just excited about showing her another amazing location somewhere in the space... But when he took his hands off her eyes instead of a strange planet, she saw a sprawling city until the horizon.
"What is it?" she asked, confused.
"Well, you once said you'd like to see Vienna, I know how hard it must be sometimes to travel with an alien, so we're going to spend two days here, visiting the city like normal people do, staying in some pretty hotel instead of Tardis."
"Oh, doctor... " Rose was truly touched.
"I'm trying my best, you know? I really just want you to be happy, to somehow deserve that you saved my life."
"You deserved everything for saving many worlds in the universe so many times by yourself... And for saving me, in every way a person can be saved."
"Happy birthday, Rose Tyler" he said as he embraced her tightly.
"Thank you so much, I just can't believe you did all this for me... I..." she hesitated. "Uhm, I am very curious how you planned this day"
The Doctor offered Rose his hand and they took the direction of the famous opera. It was impressing. First of the birthday gifts for her was a ticket for a play there.
"I'm so excited! I can't believe I'm going to see The Phantom Of The Opera here! And with you!" she told him. She was happy like a little child. The doctor noticed that Rose sometimes acts childish, but also knew she can be responsible. It was most likely because she felt very comfortable with him and she could let herself feel clueless sometimes.
They found their sits and waited for a little bit. Then the lights went off and the art started. Rose was completely amazed by it. The doctor gently put his hand on her one.
"This is so wonderful!" she whispered to him somewhere in the middle.
"So should I mark it as a success?" he asked, also quietly.
"Definitely. Thank you so much for this!"
"My pleasure."
After the play finished, they left the building and the doctor stopped, checking something on a map.
"Now another surprise, we're going to a very specific cafe" he stated.
"Really? What makes this cafe special, huh?"
"There's no way I'm telling you."
"Please?"
"Fine, your decision anyway. It's a cat cafe!" he said proudly.
"Oh my god, really?"
"Yes, obviously. I know you love cats, so I thought it might be a good idea."
"I do, and it is, but I can't believe you remembered this about me."
"Well, I have a good memory!" but they both knew it's not just that, he actually cared about her.
The Doctor did as he said, he led Rose to the cafe and they found a free table for two. He decided to order four shots of espresso, and she chose a cappuccino with rose syrup.
"See? I'm going to drink rose cappuccino!" said Rose, exposing her teeth.
The Doctor lowered his head with laughter, and suddenly a sphynx cat jumped on her lap. She gasped as her eyes shone with happiness, and she lifted it.
"Look, doctor! It's so cute... Oh my god!"
"It's ugly. It looks like an alien."
"Says who exactly?" she mocked him.
"I know, but it's alien-ly ugly, opposite to me" he rolled his eyes.
"Oh, don't be dramatic, it's so fluffy!" she said, handing the cat over the table.
"No! Don't give it to me. Oh, at least it's not as dry as I thought" he said, holding the little creature.
"Rose, help me! Why is it laying on me?"
"I think it likes you! Don't seem so terrified" she grabbed another cat. "Look, this one is identical, except it has fur!"
"I hope so..."
They both loved it there, even if he wouldn't admit this ever. Rose kept petting every cat near them and the Doctor... The Doctor was just enjoying her company and seeing her happy.
"After this, I have another plan for us."
"More surprises? How am I so lucky to have you" she joked, but she actually meant it.
"I'm the one lucky here, Rose.
"
"So...? What's the plan... More cats maybe?" Rose asked ironically, which made the Nine laugh. She was the first person ever to make him smile so often.
"This will disappoint you, but no..." she groaned, hearing this.
They both finished their drinks quickly, 'cause it was served in surprisingly small cups.
"Well... Those portions were in fact... Tiny..." Rose said after.
"Definitely, but at least the cats weren't scared of me" he mentioned.
"A weird reason to be grateful for... Trauma response?" she joked.
"Actually, once I was on earth few wild cats started chasing me"
Rose started laughing when she heard it. The Doctor joined her after realising it actually could sound funny.
He tangled their hands together and drove her out of the cafe. During the walk, they were tasting the wonderful atmosphere of Vienna. The fact, that the city was still impressive for Rose and Doctor after visiting many parts of the universe definitely says a lot.
"I don't think I've ever thanked you for giving me such a chance..."Rose started, but then The Doctor interrupted her:
"You did, actually" he showed his teeth.
"No, but seriously. You gave me an opportunity to get away. Since I was a kid, I have always been different. I couldn't find any real friends, and I was so lonely. I was never able to fit in, no matter how hard I tried. All day I sat alone at home. I thought that was going to change after I found a job, but it didn't. I got told I'm too much all the time. And my mom... I love her, but I felt like disappointment for her. She made me sob in my room, trying to understand what's wrong with me so many times. I got so lost, but then I met you, and I'm just so grateful. I owe you everything."
"You don't owe me anything" he answered immediately.
He was listening to her every single word, even when she couldn't keep eye contact.
"Oh, Rose..."
"Just... Don't look at me like that... Don't be sorry for me. I feel so guilty talking about my feelings, it has been like this since I can remember. I feel too... Exposed after this. The worst was thinking about death, that I'm wasting my life. I can't bear the thought of being forgotten..."
"You won't be."
"It's so easy for you to say that, isn't it, Doctor?"
He didn't answer, he led her to a bench nearby as they were walking past Burggarten park
"Oh my god. Why would I even say this all... What was the point? No. I shouldn't. No..."
"Come here" he said, and he closed her in a hug, reacting to her starting to cry.
"You shouldn't be this sad on your birthday. I'm sorry... You should never be ashamed of your emotions, okay? And... I should be the one thanking you for appearing in my life, 'cause you made it fantastic. I can't help your past, but I can take care of your future being better, or at least try my best to do it, okay, Rose?"
She nodded, breathing heavily and shaking.
"Look at me, inhale for one, two, three, four" he counted. "Now hold the breath in again, counting to four and exhale, stop on four. Keep looking at me and repeat the action."
He was moving his thumbs up and down on her cheek, comforting her
"You are not alone, I'm here.
During panic attacks the most important thing is to keep a person having it sane, and make them focus on a fact, that they're present in a certain moment. The Doctor knew it, so he kept on talking to her and moving his hands around her body, for her brain to receive physical stimulation. He had his hands on her arms, running them on her waist and again holding her hands, just to feel the cold touch of them. Rose's breath finally slowed, coming back to normal. But he was still able to hear the beats of her heart
"Are you better now?" The Doctor asked caringly.
"I think I am. I can't find the right words to express how thankful I am again. Now for this."
"Do not even try, I don't need this. But I need you to remember that you're always safe with me."
Rose nodded slowly and said:
"This place is so beautiful..."
But she was still having his words in her mind. She looked into his eyes, debating in her head what she should say now, but then she just embraced his neck and pulled him in to a kiss. At first, he was shocked, but then he just put his hands on her waist and completely fell for it, realising something that's been on his mind for the last few days, even the ability to travel across the universe and in time can't compare to tasting Rose Tyler's lips. And it never could.
After this, they finally got to the next point, which was the Vienna Library.
"How did you know I used to like reading?"
"You told me."
She opened her mouth but then closed it, blushing and feeling warm in her heart. She was truly amazed by the place. Just like when she was younger and she loved the film ,,Beauty and the Beast,,. All kids her age were saying how Belle shouldn't ever love the beast and those were just books. But Rose always understood this, and there... She was feeling literally like her, maybe except the doctor isn't a beast... But he's a very old alien, it still counts, doesn't it? After they went out of those thousands of books on shelves, two teenage girls ran up to Rose and one of them said:
"Oh my god! I love your outfit."
Rose smiled widely and answered:
"Thank you so much, I love the outfits of you two too! I'm Rose."
"So nice! I'm Ava, and she's Iris" said the companion of a person, who complimented Rose.
"Are you two having fun here?" Iris asked.
"Oh, I really hope she does because it's her birthday gift" The Doctor finally said something and smiled at Rose.
The girls gasped and said together ,,Happy birthday!,,
"By the way, you two look so adorable together I can't!" Ava said.
"Yes, I totally agree" Iris admitted.
"Oh! I don't know what to say, thank you!"
"Have you two been to the photobooth together, already?" asked Iris.
"No, we haven't, but it's a really good idea! It's time for us, it was nice to meet you and have a nice visit."
"You too" Ava said, and they were waving goodbye.
As they walked away, Nine asked her:
"Well, it's getting late. Have you figured out what you'd like to eat for dinner?"
"Hmm. Maybe sushi?"she suggested.
"I'm fine with everything, but I never understood humans' urge to eat sea algae."
She laughed and they took the direction to one of the best - rated sushi restaurants.
"Also, I don't eat sushi with raw fish... It just really doesn't fit my taste."
"Well, I understand it. I may take it just to try it as I physically don't need to eat."
They got to the restaurant and took a seat. Their table was really pretty, it had a flower bouquet in a pretty vase and a nice cloth. Doctor decided to try sushi with raw fish, but Rose couldn't make decision for a while. Eventually, she chose a roll with cucumber, avocado, creamy cheese and tempura fish. As always they were just talking about anything that came to their minds. Rose asked if she can try one piece of the Doctor's sushi when they were going to get their order. He answered that he completely predicted this and he agreed, of course. They waited for approx twenty minutes before the waitress brought plates with their meal on it.
"My god, it looks delicious!" she said.
"You look delicious" he answered.
"Oh yeah?" she raised her eyebrows.
"Yes, exactly" he was looking straight into her eyes.
"And what are you going to do with this?" she teased him, intentionally.
"I don't think you want to know" he smirked.
Rose didn't answer, but just squinted her eyes, trying to mask a smile. She started eating, still surprised by bus confidence. Then he also decided to give his order a try.
"I'm in shame and shock to admit it, but I like it" he said
Rose chuckled, hearing The Doctor saying this.
They sat in silence, eating. Then doctor tasted some wasabi and confessed:
"This is my favourite part of the meal. You can actually feel something!"
"Well, if I ate the amount of wasabi you did, I'd be on emergency already" she raised an eyebrow. He answered with the same face expression.
Rose still wasn't convinced to the Doctor's raw fish, but she loved hers. After they finished their food, they left a small tip.
When they were already outside, Rose suddenly said:
"It's a photobooth! Want to go there? Unless you're not transparent on photos like a vampire!"
"I think I'm not. Yes, of course. Let's go, Rose."
They did as they said, and just after a while, they were getting to the photobooth. It was one of those with still black and white photos.
The Doctor put money inside the machine and the counting started. They had 10 seconds before the next pose. She asked how they should pose, and he said if she's still gonna leave all the decisions for him, it's gonna look like it's his birthday, so she owes him a cake. It made her laugh, so the first picture already wasn't posed. Just them laughing and The Doctor looking at her as she was the brightest star on the night sky. In fact in his eyes she was.
On the second picture, Rose covered up his eyes and smiled widely. So did he, surprised by her action.
On the next one, she confessed she has no idea what to express now on the photography, so he simply kissed her on the forehead and she looked up at him, smiling.
And finally the very last pose. Rose wanted to hug him, but he leaned closer, so the first thought was obviously that he was going to steal her a kiss. But he moved away just before the camera clicked, teasing her, so the moment forever captured was Rose staring at the Doctor, like an artist at their muse, blushing and pursed lips, but still smiling. When the photos were supposed to print out, doctor quickly clicked something on the machine.
"What are you doing?" Rose asked.
"Oh, I'm just quickly editing something."
"But what? You could've said if you didn't want to go to the photobooth."
"Oh my god, Rose... I'm just asking for two copies of the print."
She gasped, realising that this explanation indeed made sense. When they got the prints, Rose smiled and said:
"I think they're perfect."
"My favourite is the last one"
Rose laughed and gave a glance at the Doctor after his words, looking for any sign of irony on his face, but he seemed... Serious.
The sun was going to hide under the horizon, and it was getting late, so before the last point of the Doctor's plan, he decided that they should check in at the hotel, which wasn't really far away because it was located very close to city center.
The Doctor didn't have many baggage, but Rose had extra clothes, a cosmetic bag, and some money, just in case something happened. They saw a quite high building with the name of the hotel on it. Surprisingly Doctor actually made a reservation, but he still used his blank paper card to act like a manager of another hotel, so they got the best room possible. It was placed on the third floor, so they took an elevator and they passed other rooms in the hall. Their room number was 311, they entered and saw a medium-sized room, a bit bigger than a typical one in most of hotels. An ordinary door leading to a bathroom with a tub. A window with city panorama view and... A king-sized bed. The doctor frowned, seeing this and said:
"I thought I booked a single beds one"
"Yes, but probably after you faked being someone more important, they ignored it and just gave you the best of what the hotel had" said Rose reasonably.
"Well, I could go and ask for a change."
Rose's heart actually started beating faster as she said:
"I mean... I don't mind, unless you really want to, then I'm of course okay with this"
Doctor smirked, seeing how anxious she was before saying this one. Sometimes she was the most confident and loud person, but most of the time, especially when they were together, she could be rather quiet, yet laughing with him... Oh, and obviously, it was easy to make her blush, which he used very often, actually.
"I don't mind either, you can leave your stuff and let's go" he said.
"Sorry? I thought we're gonna stay here now, like until night" she exclaimed.
"And do what? Come on, it's your birthday. And you can feel the vibe and atmosphere of any bigger city, only when it's getting dark!"
"Yes, maybe you're right" Rose blushed.
"Unless you're too exhausted, then don't worry, we can stay in. I don't get tired like you people, so I can't tell what you feel."
Rose couldn't help how red on face she became in the moment.
"Oh no, no... I'm fine" she stuttered and bit her tongue inside the mouth not to smile over her the past thought, which brought her butterflies to her stomach.
The doctor thought her act was a bit suspicious, but he decided to just ignore it and grabbed her hand as they were leaving. Suddenly, Rose saw a water dispenser in the hotel hall.
"It's so cool, I always loved water dispensers in hotels or just public spaces!" she said.
"But... Why? What's so special about them?" the Doctor seemed confused.
"I don't know! I just liked the thought that I can get water at any moment, when I run out of it... Wait!"
"Sorry? What happened, Rose?"
"I just want to quickly change, because I have something more proper for the birthday evening."
"Oh, I understand! I can wait in the lobby and you can go change if you want to... Or I'll just wait here next to the water dispenser" he said and handed her a keycard.
"Okay, thank you" she answered and turned back to their room.
She opened the door and took her backpack, looking for clothes. Luckily, she didn't forget it so she started to change and then she wore some jewelry. After this, she closed the door behind, and began to look for doctor. He stood close to the elevator and the water dispenser with his arms folded. His facial expression was neutral, but as soon as he saw Rose his eyes shone.
She had on a long, black, classic dress, which hugged her curves perfectly. She also put on her favourite earrings and a simple silver necklace. Black, sharp-ended boots with very little heel matched her appearance perfectly. The Doctor couldn't get his eyes off her.
"You look... beautiful" he said.
"For a human?" She joked, referring to something he told her once.
"I didn't mean it then you know?" he actually felt guilty because he wasn't familiar enough with feelings to admit how beautiful he found her then.
"Even if for a human, you'd be the most beautiful person on this planet" he confessed.
Rose turned red, not being used to that delicate type of compliments.
"Thank you" she answered and couldn't help a smile.
The doctor took her by the arm and they continued walking the streets of Vienna again.
"It means a lot to me, actually, how gently you treat me and how you care about me. I feel like Mickey only valued my body, he kept on with comments about it, which usually made me uncomfortable" Rose confessed.
"He should never act like this to you. That's horrible... Has he ever done something you... I don't know felt uncomfortable with? he got worried as she mentioned it.
"No, don't worry, I am still a bit assertive.
He nodded.
They still strolled until they got to Schönbrunn, which is a palace surrounded by a garden. It was already too late to visit the inside, but there was a hill behind it that was their destination. They had to climb it, which wasn't very difficult, of course.
"So... What are we doing here?" Rose asked.
"Can't you deduce? It's evening and we're on a hill, we can see sprawling city panorama view from... We're going to watch the sunset" said the Doctor, proud of himself again.
"Oh, it makes sense now! It's amazing. Thank you, I haven't seen Earth's sunset in a while, especially from such a place..."
"Yes, I could assume. And because it's your first birthday we're spending together, I wanted to make it special" explained the Doctor.
"And you did..." she said calmly, but with happiness.
They waited a bit for the sun to finally paint the sky in warm colour palette, creating extraordinary compositions with pink-ish clouds in different shapes. It was a really beautiful sunset. Surprisingly, there weren't many people around, which was only an advantage to the magical atmosphere. They were holding hands when the Doctor said:
"I'm so glad I met you".
Rose smiled, remembering when he told her this for the first time, during one of their first travels after they met Charles Dickens and those ghosts.
"Me too" she repeated like then.
They were staring at each other for a while, but then they just continued watching the sunset. Rose put her head on the Doctor's shoulder and he embraced her.
"Sometimes I forget how perfect sunset is from earth. All those planets I've been to, and I still think people's sunsets are fantastic" doctor whispered
"Oh yes, I definitely agree" answered Rose.
And they just were there in silence, that wasn't awkward, no... It was more comforting than a thousand words with somebody else. Rose and the Doctor stayed on Schönbrunn hill until it got dark, and then they decided to come back to the hotel. Vienna was full of any kind of lights. Street lamps, little lights infront of bars and many people in the city center, although a lot of places were closed, most of restaurants or museums, which was uncommon for a capital. They sat in one luckily opened bar for a drink and Rose chose a mojito with lowered alcohol, and the Doctor drank a few shots of espresso again. They were remembering old days, after they met, and the Doctor was also telling her about adventures before he met her. He was looking at her every time she was talking because he was able to see a spark in her eyes then or her smile when she was telling him about something she found funny. Both of them finished their drinks quickly and they got out with hands tangled together.
Suddenly, as they were getting closer to their destination, which was their hotel, obviously, it started to rain. The Doctor got very scared for a second when he thought it may be judoon or another kind of invasion... The time before he realized it was just a normal rain was terrifying for him. After the short anxiety, he started to get angry because he thought it was going to destroy his companion's day, but when he turned around, he saw that Rose just stood there, with a wide smile. Almost every person around them was covering themselves with upper clothes or more lucky ones with an umbrella, which they probably accidentally had with them. Some street musicians were still playing violin and guitar on a nearby square.
"I love rain..." Rose said
"Yeah? But why? I mean what's so incredible about it for you? Because as I see most people aren't enjoying it" doctor asked.
"Well... I think it's... Very sensual, getting wet inch by inch in water drops. Especially when the rain is warm, like in summer. Also the smell of it... Somehow it's truly marvellous. I couldn't forget about how romantic it is.
"Romantic? The rain?" the confusion in his voice was very clear.
"Of course! In all classics there are scenes in rain, it always was my dream to dance with somebody while getting all soaked" she talked in dreamy voice.
"Now, when you mentioned that..." The Doctor offered her his hand and when she took it and smiled, showing her teeth, he pulled her closer and put the other hand on Rose's waist.
Then they heard first notes of intro of ,,Iris,, playing by mentioned before street musicians. They started dancing, the square was almost empty except the musicians, who moved under a cafe awning. People passing by clearly just gave up at this point. The worst moment during rain is getting wet, then timing and going under a roof still matters. But once all your clothes are full of water, hair stick to your face and even your socks are soaked you stop caring about coming home as fast as it's possible since it's not going to change anything. The Doctor and Rose did not care at all too. Suddenly The Doctor stopped moving and Rose frowned, then he said:
-"Right! I remember now... I knew him!"
-"Who?" - she asked.
-"Oh the creator of this song!" - he explained.
-"Did you just casually said you knew John Rzeznik?" - she gasped, shocked
-"Yeah, I helped him with one song, actually. After his soul almost got taken by some Pluton Lords.
-"Well, that's crazy!"
He put both hands on her waist again and after a while spinned her around. They dance as the world didn't exist and as the rain wasn't getting stronger. Doctor lifted up Rose and spinned her once again, in last verse they ended up their dance with a dip and he gave her a forehead kiss. The duo who played and few people around started clapping in applause, which made Rose blush. No one saw it anyway because of water drops. In fact only few street lamps were lighting up the square. The musicians stopped playing and started packing their instruments and other stuffs, which was a sign for The Doctor and his companion to finally go to the hotel, that was right behind the corner. When they got in they took an elevator and kept smiling at each other. The tension between them was getting stronger with every second. Rose and The Doctor walked to their room.
"You know, I really enjoyed our evening" she said and stopped walking as they were next to the door.
"Oh yeah? Did you?" he raised his eyebrows and smirked.
Rose looked up at him and slightly bit her lip, letting unspoken words hung in the air.
"No I didn't since you're asking... I was just joking" she decided to use this situation to tease The Doctor again.
"Well... It made my two hearts ache... Is there anything I can do to make you happier tonight?" he asked.
He decided to play her own game, except she was also the first one to lose it. After taking few seconds to come up with an answer, she gave up, took a deep breath and stood on her tiptoes to combine their lips together. The Doctor was absolutely ready for her move, so when she did it, he grabbed her thighs and lifted her up, pinning her back to the wall behind them. Rose blindly tried to put her hand into The Doctor's pocket and look for the keycard. Finally after few attempts she succeeded and he took it from her to open the door right nearby. Then he slammed them shut when they got inside. Rose, still on his hands, chuckled, but then she felt her back intensively touching the door. She groaned, out of sudden pain.
"Are you okay?" he asked because he actually got worried about her for a while.
"Yes, I am" she snorted in an answer, but deep inside appreciating how The Doctor still cared about her in this kind of moment.
They came back to kissing, Rose ran her hands down his neck and put them on The Doctor's shoulders. Then he kissed her neck, making her tilt her head back. Rose closed her eyes, hard trying to catch a breath. The feelings were so strong she got dizzy. Before she could realise what's happening, The Doctor threw her over his shoulder, holding her ankles. Butterflies in her stomach felt like an explosion, almost making her feel sick. Chills ran all over her body as she fell on the comfortable mattress of the hotel bed and saw The Doctor's figure above her. He took off his leather jacket and now it was just laying on the floor. The only light in the room was then a small lamp, giving cozy, yet romantic and sensual orangish trace on one of the walls. Rose decided to get rid of the dress so the only thing she had on was her black, lacy bra, fitting pants and knee-long, half transparent socks with a tiny bow. Also black, of course. Her body tensed, when she felt a touch of The Doctor's cold fingers on her bare skin. He ran his hands over her body, which brought the same chills as before, following his every move. He gathered her hair in one hand and the other one put on her waist, pulling her into a passionate kiss once again.
Rose's lips slightly tasted like raspberry. He delicately started unpinning her upper underwear, keeping an eye contact with her, looking for any hesitation... But he only saw a smile oh her face. The Doctor couldn't resist to look at her body. He found her so perfect, he could never put it into words. Every move was slow, unrushed, fully waited. The doctor paid all attention to her, it all felt like it was just them in the entire universe. Nothing else mattered in a moment their bodies touched. In the very closest way anyone could ever get to the other's person not just physical for, but also to their soul. In every touch, every whisper, every breath was trust. Rose and The Doctor were completely exposed in front of each other... Except it didn't feel wrong. The closeness, full of warm and desire got the control over them. Rose was breathing heavily with her heart racing the fastest in her entire life. The doctor couldn't take his hands off her, gloating her presence just we she was supposed to disappear in a moment and he had to hold her in the tighest way possible. She fell asleep in his arms and didn't feel bad or scared. The Doctor never felt closer to heaven than in any moment with her. So when was sleeping already, he was listening to her heartbeat, trying to relax. Because in the time he was alone, all the thoughts about timewar and time lords species kept coming back to haunt him. And he could never forget about it. No matter how many good moments he's spent, in those whiles he couldn't help the miserable feeling inside him. The Doctor knew very well that Rose would understand it, if he talked about it to her, but he didn't want add to her worries things, she couldn't do anything about. And only during conversations with her, he let himself feel happiness, even for a short amount of time.
Rose slowly opened her eyes and blinked intensively, blinded by sudden light room. Her hair was a mess, sticking to her face. She just woke up, but she felt completely exhausted. She decided to grab some water, but as soon as she stood up, she had to sit on the edge of the bed again. Her body ached, but then, remembering last night she blamed The Doctor in her mind for this. Speaking of The Doctor, he was still resting when Rose closed the door and went to the water dispenser, yet when she came back, he was fully awake. He was holding something behind his back, so she tilted her head and frowned.
"I know it's not much, but I came up with this idea for a gift for you. I wanted to give it to you yesterday after we came back to the hotel, but as you know I couldn't" he started.
"Oh, you definitely couldn't. I am not able to walk like a normal person!" she interrupted, jokingly mad.
"Really? And what, is it my fault?" he asked immediately.
"Well, actually..." she didn't even finish the sentence and he rolled his eyes.
"Alright! Anyway, here" he handed her a flat package, which she ripped in a moment it got to her hands. And she saw in front of her a book. Specifically, ,,The Little Prince" book.
"Oh my..." she gasped.
"Yes... I also highlighted some moments or quotes that I liked. When I remembered this book I couldn't help it, but thought of you. You're my rose.
The symbolism of the gift deeply touched Rose. She has read the book before, obviously, but since she loved it and it was with The Doctor's thoughts and annotations, she was really excited to get into this story again.
"But... Wasn't the rose bad for the Little Prince?" Rose asked
"Right, maybe let's skip that specific part, but I'd agree to get bitten by venomous snake just to come back to you too" he admitted half jokingly.
Rose was absolutely stunned by how thoughtful and meaningful it was.
"Well, I guess you're my prince then..." she smiled widely. "I love it so much, thank you."
He closed her in a hug, glad that she liked the gift. Rose decided to wear more casual outfit this day, The Doctor still had a t-shirt and his leather jacket on. They decided to spontaneously find some cafe to eat a breakfast in.
"Aren't we supposed to check out first?" Rose asked.
"Don't worry about it. There aren't many reservations so the manager turned a blind eye to it" he explained
.
She smiled at him, impressed as always but not surprised by his tricks anymore.
They went out, looking for any fancy looking place. Doctor decided to take a direction opposite to the centre, not falling for the 'higher price and lower quality for the location' concept. Eventually, they found a calm and quiet place so thsy decided to stay there. It was small coffee place in an old tenement. Most of the tables were taken so the doctor expected it to be good.
"I think I'm going to order an avocado toast with some greek salad. Yes, I'm definitely doing the toast" Rose was thinking aloud.
"I don't feel like eating today" the Doctor answered, not in mood.
"Okay" she cut the topic.
After some time a waiter came up to them and wrote down her simple order, containing one of the breakfast sets and british tea.
"I'm pretty certain they're going to absolutely mess my drink" Rose wanted to cheer him up a little, by making this comment.
"Well, I suppose they won't even add milk to it..." - a corner of his mouth lifted a little.
"Right?" she laught.
Talking of the devil, Rose's cup of tea arrived. As soon as the waiter left, she bursted out laughing.
"Oh damn, just a black tea from a bag. Incredible."
Soon she also got her meal. At least the toast didn't disappoint her.
"The salad is so good though. However the cheese tastes completely different than in London. Wanna try?" she asked.
"Yes, I can" he took a bite and agreed with her. Finally the negative thoughts went away for a while.
Since they didn't have any plans, after she finished eating Rose and the doctor just began to stroll again.
"Oh my god! Did you see the green light icon on pedestrian crossing?" she noticed when they stopped.
He looked up and saw an image of two people holding hands and a heart between them. An inevitable smile came across his face. He hasn't seen something like this in his entire life. There was something wonderful in human beings, despiting the mistakes they make everyday, some of them are still able to be enough thoughtful to come up with things like that.
About afternoon Rose got a bit tired by pointless walking, so they sat on a bench. The doctor was telling her about his odd story with upside-down rain then.
"Do you know what I'm thinking about now?" she started, suddenly.
"Yes?"
"I'm starving chips. I haven't had them in a while. Can we go get some now? For a lunch?"
"Yes, of course we can. Let's go" the Doctor smirked.
They found a spot nearby and made an order. It had a few sitting places inside, so they decided to wait for their food there.
"Actually, chips always will remind be about one of our first trips. I still remember it..." he said.
"Yes, and I remember paying for them since you didn't have money" she answered.
The Doctor showed his teeth in a wide smile.
"Why didn't you get yourself chips by the way?" she asked, confused.
"Oh nothing I really am not in mood to eat today."
"But... I don't understand" Rose drilled.
"Why is it such a big deal?" he tried to not get annoyed.
"Well... Alright then, Doctor. Too long of acting like a human?" she joked, which was the worst thing she could do in that moment.
"Wow, I wouldn't expect such a comment from you"
"Wait... What do you mean?" Rose didn't understand.
"Nothing of course! As always. But you should see that I was trying to make your birthday happy" he explained.
"I know and I'm grateful!"
"Well, before a second it didn't feel like this"
She couldn't understand why the doctor took words so seriously and already started blaming herself. Even after her fries came, she lost an appetite to eat them. They didn't continue the conversation which was probably worse than fighting. In the same silence they came back to the hotel.
"I'm probably going to get some water" he informed her after some time passed.
"Okay"
She was waiting for him to come back but he didn't, first after fifteen minutes, then after half of an hour. Rose got worried so she went out to look for him, but she didn't find her doctor. Worst scenarios came up to her head. She also went outside the hotel to try to find him in the neighborhood. Without an effect. The last thing was to go to the place, where they left Tardis. It was empty. Not even a sign of the blue police booth. It was the exact moment, when Rose realised she was on her own. Rose had enough money with her to stay whenever she'd like, she could come back to london, to her house and her mother, couldn't she? But then she remembered how Captain Jack told her if she ever needed a place to stay, she can always use his very old family locum. The owner of the building kept it clean, but it wasn't used by anyone.
"Why would I? I'm traveling with The Doctor " she said then.
"Of course you are. But just so you know, in case anything happened..." Jack explained.
"I have no idea what are you talking about! Nothing is going to happen. I don't understand" she laught.
But when she understood, it wasn't so funny anymore. She decided to just come back for her stuff to the hotel they stayed in. When she asked for it at the reception, they informed her how "some man" donated unbelievable amount of money to the hotel and left a note informing, that if medium high, blonde, girl will appear here later, she can stay how long she'll decide to. Rose nodded, hearing this, trying to fight the tears in her eyes. She took her backpack and went to the room. When the door closed behind her, she looked around. All that space felt so empty. However, instead of sitting on bed, she just leaned against the wall. Yet, after the moment she sit under it, pulling her knees to her chin. It was the moment when she just started crying. A wave of sadness didn't just flood her. It felt like drowning, like she couldn't take a normal breath because all the memories felt like water in her lungs. She used to be often sad in worse periods of her life. But now it was something else. Rose was alone, not just lonely, completely alone. All the tears running down her face had salty taste by themselves, but also deeply bitter because of thoughts in her head. How was she supposed to live? Nothing made sense anymore. Rose has always wanted something more from life, the reality was so boring... Then she met The Doctor, which obviously changed everything. It all finally was worth something. But eventually everything came back to black and white. Except it got even worse, when she was aware what she's missing. Sickness spread in her stomach and she couldn't do anything about it. Stupidly she thought it was going to be different, but eventually she was left on her own again. Suddenly the debate in her head started if it's all still worth anything. It's kind of considering that should never have place. The room, supposedly not that big, felt huge then.
At some point she was too tired to cry, completely dehydrated. With last strength Rose went for a cup of water. It tasted disgusting. She just laid down on the bed. She was completely exhausted, yet she wasn't able to fall asleep. She processed everything that has happened.
On the other hand, the doctor wasn't very far away. He was just travelling all around the earth, trying to sort everything in his head. He didn't know what caused this all and why he's been feeling like that, however, he felt the need to leave. Except it didn't help him at all. Everything still felt empty and he still was miserable. He could be looking at some sea, but able to think only about the way he abandoned Rose, out of his trauma, which he should have worked out. He sat on a bench and stared at stars above him, yet even them seemed to fade. Actually he did leave her, just in the way The little prince did to his rose. The next day it got even worse. The guilt becoming physical pain was eating him from the inside. On the next day he decided that he has to go back to Vienna. Nothing else mattered while he was going again through all the spots he visited before with Rose.
She was in the room almost all day. Only in the evening she decided to take a short walk to oxygenate. It was the point, where she thought she's unable to feel anything. It was cold outside and the sky suddenly got covered by dark clouds, suggesting the weather is going to change in a bit. It's hard to say everything was going fine, but she felt quite stable... Untill she saw well known leather jacket.
"Oh not this again..." - she thought, feeling a twinge in the chest. As soon as The Doctor noticed Rose, he immediately got closer to her.
"You got bored and need some entrainment again?" - she asked him.
"What's the problem right now? Offence already?" he hit back.
"Well, obviously? You left me!" she couldn't take it anymore.
"No, I didn't?"
"Yes, you did?"
"I think I know better what I did" he stated.
"But I know better how what you did made me feel."
"I never said I left"
Rose felt first drops of rain on her face.
"You never had a chance to say anything, since you just disappeared making me wonder if you either just got bored of me or got killed by some aliens! And why is it raining again?" she exclaimed, irritated.
"Oh I thought you said you like rain, didn't you?" he mocked her.
"So now you're repeating what I told you yesterday?" Rose crossed her arms. "Asshole."
"I just felt like it was too much" the Doctor started.
"What? Me?..." Rose asked but he didn't answer.
"Oh alright, I understand now. Why don't you just drop me on any planet. Wait right, you almost did. If I'm such a big issue... You can leave me whenever you want to" she was hurt, but she had to play it angry.
"I can't!" the Doctor said like it was obvious.
"Oh and why so?" she asked sarcastically with an excessive amount of gestures.
"Because I love you, for god's sake!" he yelled.
The Doctor took a deep breath after this and just stared up, letting the water drops fall into his eyes. Rose just stood her in silence, completely dumbfounded. When he dared to look back at her, he met the worried glaze of her eyes. She was keeping her hand on her other elbow.
"Okay, that was stupid let's just forget about it" he added, clearly nervous.
"No, don't even say that. Come here" she opened her arms to embrace him.
-"I... I love you. I'm sorry" she said after hesitation. It was difficult for her, even though she was quite aware of her feelings for a while.
"What for?" he got confused.
"If being with me wasn't easy lately or if I was indeed a trouble for you..."
"No, stop. It wasn't your fault, okay, Rose? I am just struggling and you can't help it, no matter how much you want to. Everyone has a chapter in their story they'd rather not talk about, even though it haunts them. The time war always will be mine and that's it. But you help me by your presence. I finally stopped being so alone after ages..." he calmed down and confessed, then gave her a forehead kiss.
"I know I can be a lot sometimes, Often first I say or do something and then I think. But you mean a lot to me, really. And I just couldn't fight one thought, what if you left all because of me?"
"I did not. I just got used to being alone and after yesterday I started feeling so happy and kind of dependent on you. And I admit... It freaked me out a little bit. I acted like a coward, I know. But you have to understand me; I don't age. I regenerate. But humans decay. You wither and you die. Imagine watching that happen to someone you..."
"What, Doctor?"
"You can spend the rest of your life with me. But I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on, alone. That's the curse of the Timelords."
'The Prince came back to his Rose once again, after leaving her, realising how lucky he is to have her.'
They came back to the hotel, both exhausted. That evening Rose Tyler and The Doctor fell asleep contented. He was glad to be able to hold her in his arms again.
Both of them got hurt by the past situation, and nothing could ever fix it. But the life isn't ideal, people (and aliens) have to bleed, just so they know they're alive.