DW: A Sweet Disaster
Title: A Sweet Disaster
Authors: jess_squirrel & tinuviel428
Fandom: Doctor Who
Characters: Ten & Rose
Word Count: 2,075
Rating: G
Setting: Sometime after The Idiot’s Lantern and before The Impossible Planet
Summary: When the Doctor tries to be a bit domestic, it doesn't blow up in his face…
Tuvi's Notes: Please don’t blame us for the silly cuteness and ship!fest that is this fic - it wasn’t even supposed to be posted! It all started out as an IM version of the “It was a dark and stormy night” game - you know, the one where one person says one bit, and the next person continues - but it morphed into something much greater than either of us could control. I’ve never even attempted to write fanfic of any kind before; like I said, it was supposed to be a game. And then jess_squirrel suggested we post it, and here it is. Crazy!
I owe her a huge debt of gratitude for pulling me out of my fic-is-for-reading-only mindset. First I got to beta for her, which was an absolute joy, but then this? I think this has to top it all. Thank you so much for this. I'm honored to be able to share my first writing attempt with you! *hugs*
Alayna's Notes: *grins* It’s always fun to mix things up a bit, yeah? I’m so glad and surprised that this little piece of fluff turned out so well. First of all, I need to extend a special thanks to my co-author, tinuviel428 . I'm so glad she agreed to play around with me, and I’m thankful that she was brave enough to step out of her editing box. Or pedestal. Honestly, she’s fantastic!
I also need to extend another special thanks to our two betas: thisbeciel & lossefalme2995 . Thank you for joining us on this strange adventure!
I’m not positive, but I wouldn’t be surprised if more stories written on IM showed up here… ^_^
A Sweet Disaster
A loud shriek pierced the silence, causing the dark-haired man in the long tan coat to whip his head around in surprise. What he saw when he turned, however, made him cringe. He opened his mouth to speak and shut it again, staring in amazement at the sight in front of him. It was Rose. At least, he thought it was Rose… But he couldn't really be sure, could he? The Rose he knew had blond hair. This one had a rather odd look about her. For one thing, she seemed to be covered in a dripping brown substance. An uncharacteristic scowl dominated her features. Angrily she glowered at him, crossing her arms in front of her and narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
“You'll never guess what happened a minute ago,” Rose said, in a falsely cheery voice. “I was in the kitchen, mindin’ my own business, when all of sudden I find myself covered in this!” She flung out a thoroughly coated arm for him to examine. “Now, what do you s'pose this is, Doctor?”
The Doctor's eyes widened, and he was barely able to conceal the laugh that wanted to burst out of him. “Ah,” he said, with an air of one knows exactly what is going on but doesn't want to reveal it. “Well. Yes…that. I was just...well...”
“You were just what Doctor? Do you really believe I'm going to stand here covered in sticky goo and not get an answer?”
The Doctor considered this for a moment, weighing his options. On the one hand, he wasn't quite ready to tell Rose everything. But on the other hand, that 'sticky goo' hadn't been quite ready either, when it had-somehow-exploded all over Rose. He'd have to tell her. Or make something up. He considered for a moment, then realized Rose would spot a smart, impressive, scientific lie a light-year away. “Oh alright. You were in the kitchen, you said?”
Rose glared her assent.
“You didn't happen to notice anything in the blender while you were in there, did you?”
She frowned at him. “What blender?”
“Oh...it was just off to the side...hardly noticeable… You didn't touch it, did you?”
Rose began to look as if she was going to lose control. “Doctor,” she started, struggling to keep her voice calm, “what...”
But the Doctor cut her off. “Well, no, you obviously didn't touch it… Being, well, you, you probably would have noticed that it didn't...exactly...havealidonit.” He said the last few words so fast, Rose almost thought he was spouting some insane technobabble like he often loved to do. But then she worked out what he'd really said.
“It didn't. Have. A lid. On it.”
When the Doctor seemed intent on keeping his mouth shut at that moment, Rose decided to take a step in his direction.
Slightly unnerved, he took a step back.
A mischievous glint appeared in her eyes as she slowly backed the Doctor towards the back wall of the TARDIS. He was so focused on Rose that he didn't notice the step down until it was too late. The Doctor placed one foot behind the other…and instead of finding the solid grating there to greet him, he did what was quite possibly the most accurate windmill impression that Rose had ever seen. He careened backwards, arms flailing, and landed on his back with a loud metallic clash. Rose just stood there, dripping impatiently, arms folded in front of her again. The Doctor's eyes were as big as saucers (but not the flying variety), and then he shouted. “BROWNIES!!”
“What?” Rose asked, still angry but a little bit surprised.
“Brownies,” the Doctor exclaimed from his position on the floor. “You're covered in brownie...glop.”
Experimentally, Rose brought a sticky finger to her mouth and took a very quick taste--one could never be too sure when unidentified substances exploded all over you, even when the Doctor had claimed to identify them. “It's...it is!” said Rose, in utter astonishment. “What on earth...I mean, what was brownie glop doin’, explodin’ all over me?! I didn't even touch it! And what was it doin’ in the kitchen in the first place? I certainly didn't put it there.”
The Doctor's face instantly became an emotionless mask--except for his eyes. His eyes looked like those of a young schoolboy, caught at a flower shop and fervently denying why he was there. He adopted a stutter to match. “I--I was making...well...I just...thought...you might like...”
Rose shushed him by placing a finger over his lips. Slowly, teasingly, she stuck the batter-covered finger into his mouth and pulled it out. Adopting an innocent expression, she asked, “You were saying?”
“Um...” the Doctor replied, eyes locked on the now-clean finger. “I...” The doctor drew in a quick breath and sidestepped out of Rose's way. “You know, that's actually not half bad. I haven't made brownies in...ahh...well. Too long. Apparently.”
Rose turned and let her gaze follow the Doctor around the TARDIS console. He made quite a show of pushing random buttons and waving his sonic screwdriver at anything that looked a little bit out of place. His eyes were everywhere except on her.
“Doctor?”
“Hmmm?”
“Why...exactly...was that brownie mix in an uncovered blender?”
“Ah. Well,” he said, still poking around the console, “that just goes to show, you… you’ve completely missed the point.”
“The point.” Rose had finally caught the Doctor's eye and he seemed to be feeling too guilty to look away this time. “The point?” she repeated.
He put on his time-for-a-scientific-lecture-now look. “The point”, he began, “is not that the blender was uncovered. I just...forgot to cover it before I turned it on.”
Rose blinked. “You turned it on.” The Doctor just raised his eyebrows at her, so Rose continued. “From here?”
“The point,” the Doctor exclaimed in exasperation. “I was...well. I was...baking!” He started around the console, avoiding her eyes again.
“Baking,” Rose repeated in disbelief. “You were baking? Why? In all the time I've known you, you've never baked anything. I didn't even know you knew how to bake!”
The Doctor's eyes shot to hers at that last comment. “Of course I know how to bake,” he said, thoroughly indignant. “You think that after 900 years of traveling I wouldn't have learned how to bake? Mind you, I have had my share of catastrophes-” But he cut himself off. “Rose Tyler, you're still missing the point!” He brandished his sonic screwdriver at her. “I was baking.”
Rose thought it best not to argue, since she was sure she didn't know the half of what that screwdriver was capable of. She just nodded.
“I was baking,” he repeated. “For...” Apparently, his shoes now demanded his attention and he swept his eyes towards them. A small voice finished, “For you.”
She stared at him, barely comprehending his words. His beautiful eyes waited--no, begged for her to answer. “You...” she stammered. “You were baking…for me?”
The Doctor nodded once, but remained silent.
Rose felt all the anger she had melt away. “But...but why were you baking for me?”
“Oh Rose, isn't it obvious? I...” His eyes locked onto hers, wide and filled with an emotion Rose couldn't quite put into words. “I take you to all these places--oh, I try to end up somewhere where we'll have a nice time, sure, but then we end up”--his arms gestured wildly around him, nearly the same way they had windmilled earlier--“foiling some evil plot and running for our lives and I just wanted…I wanted to say...to tell you...”
Rose's eyes widened, hoping.
“Thank you,” he finished.
Rose didn't, couldn't say a word. Several moments passed. She just stood there, frozen.
The Doctor was still as stone, waiting to see what she would do.
Finally, she was able to say, “You didn't have to do that.”
He grinned at her. “Exactly.”
“Exactly what?”
“Rose Tyler--” he started impatiently, but checked himself. ”I think you should get cleaned up. You're dripping all over my TARDIS, and in case you hadn’t noticed, the floor isn’t exactly brownie-batter friendly.”
Rose glanced down at the almost see-through grating below her. She tried to hide a smile as she looked up again and pointed a finger accusingly at the Doctor.
“Oh no you don’t, you’re not gonna change the subject by claiming the TARDIS is in danger of brownie poisoning. I think if she can stand to have an entire thermos of my mum’s tea spilled all over her, she can take a few drops of brownie batter.”
“It’s rude to point.”
Rose’s eyebrows shot up. “Oooh, well, looks like the tables have turned on ya. My turn to be rude. Your turn to fess up. What d’you think you’re thankin’ me for, Doctor? You’ve shown me…” She looked to the ceiling for inspiration. “You’ve shown me the universe! The size of it all! The terrible, beautiful size of it all, and you’re thankin’ me? Why?”
The Doctor shut his mouth with an audible click and looked as if he wanted to be anywhere but here.
Rose shook her head, “Doctor, come on. You've already put your foot in your mouth so you might as well tell me.” She went to him, placing her hands on his shoulders, not allowing him to turn away. “Tell me, Doctor,” she said gently.
“Well...it's...you see...Rose you really are mucking up my TARDIS.”
“We'll clean it up later.”
“It will be glued on later.”
“Doctor...” she said, rolling her eyes.
A twinkle appeared in his eyes even as he hung his head in defeat. There was no way to resist her. All his defenses had vanished long ago, leaving behind only awkwardness. “Rose... Well, it’s like you said, isn’t it. Like we both said. Sure, I can show you the universe, and it’s…it’s beautiful, yeah, but…eighty-one-“ he paused, thinking. “No. Eighty-three. Eighty-three percent of the time, we end up running for our lives, Rose! You could die out there! Die. And… you still stay with me. I just thought…maybe…I should do something to…to thank you.
"Ohhh, but now that I think about it,” he said, pulling away from Rose and resuming his usual fast-as-light speech, “Now that I really, really think about it--what a stupid-brownies?! What a way to say thanks! ‘Thanks for almost dying for me, Rose! Have a brownie!’” He started around the console again, grabbing his faithful hammer to assist him in whatever “repairs” he thought he was doing.
The truth was, he didn’t know exactly why he had done it. Perhaps the baking had been brought on by their last two adventures… First the unnamed planet of ice where, for just a moment-after Rose had disappeared in the clutches of a truly terrifying ice creature-he thought he really had lost her. He hadn’t, of course, so he had chosen to take her to the 1950s for a bit of fun. But then she had lost her face-and seeing her like that was almost worse than losing her entirely. He would never forget how she looked, how it had taken every ounce of his self-control to stay grounded.
Maybe allowing himself to enjoy the coronation party had been too domestic for him. His brain must have been addled to be full of such rubbish. Why else would he have thought of brownies as a simple “thank you”?
The Doctor hurried around the console, trying to hide his embarrassment. Trying to forget the despair of their last two adventures.
A brown sticky hand stilled his, and the Doctor looked up into her shining eyes. “Thank you,” she said simply. “Now really, Doctor…what is the real point? Besides saying thanks and all.”
“I think you know.”
“You could still say it.”
“I...”
“Doctor,” she prodded, “I can say it for you, if you like.”
He watched her mutely.
“The real reason you mixed up brownies was because you've always wanted to know what I'd look like with mud-brown hair. Admit it!”
The Doctor grinned, “Yes, Rose. That's it exactly.”
She grabbed his hand and began tugging him out of the main chamber.
“Where are we going?”
“Where do you think we're going?” she replied. “You're going to help me clean up the mess you made. Starting with my hair.”
As the Doctor followed Rose obligingly out of the console room, he didn't even try to hide his smile. She had definitely gotten the point.
Authors: jess_squirrel & tinuviel428
Fandom: Doctor Who
Characters: Ten & Rose
Word Count: 2,075
Rating: G
Setting: Sometime after The Idiot’s Lantern and before The Impossible Planet
Summary: When the Doctor tries to be a bit domestic, it doesn't blow up in his face…
Tuvi's Notes: Please don’t blame us for the silly cuteness and ship!fest that is this fic - it wasn’t even supposed to be posted! It all started out as an IM version of the “It was a dark and stormy night” game - you know, the one where one person says one bit, and the next person continues - but it morphed into something much greater than either of us could control. I’ve never even attempted to write fanfic of any kind before; like I said, it was supposed to be a game. And then jess_squirrel suggested we post it, and here it is. Crazy!
I owe her a huge debt of gratitude for pulling me out of my fic-is-for-reading-only mindset. First I got to beta for her, which was an absolute joy, but then this? I think this has to top it all. Thank you so much for this. I'm honored to be able to share my first writing attempt with you! *hugs*
Alayna's Notes: *grins* It’s always fun to mix things up a bit, yeah? I’m so glad and surprised that this little piece of fluff turned out so well. First of all, I need to extend a special thanks to my co-author, tinuviel428 . I'm so glad she agreed to play around with me, and I’m thankful that she was brave enough to step out of her editing box. Or pedestal. Honestly, she’s fantastic!
I also need to extend another special thanks to our two betas: thisbeciel & lossefalme2995 . Thank you for joining us on this strange adventure!
I’m not positive, but I wouldn’t be surprised if more stories written on IM showed up here… ^_^
A Sweet Disaster
A loud shriek pierced the silence, causing the dark-haired man in the long tan coat to whip his head around in surprise. What he saw when he turned, however, made him cringe. He opened his mouth to speak and shut it again, staring in amazement at the sight in front of him. It was Rose. At least, he thought it was Rose… But he couldn't really be sure, could he? The Rose he knew had blond hair. This one had a rather odd look about her. For one thing, she seemed to be covered in a dripping brown substance. An uncharacteristic scowl dominated her features. Angrily she glowered at him, crossing her arms in front of her and narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
“You'll never guess what happened a minute ago,” Rose said, in a falsely cheery voice. “I was in the kitchen, mindin’ my own business, when all of sudden I find myself covered in this!” She flung out a thoroughly coated arm for him to examine. “Now, what do you s'pose this is, Doctor?”
The Doctor's eyes widened, and he was barely able to conceal the laugh that wanted to burst out of him. “Ah,” he said, with an air of one knows exactly what is going on but doesn't want to reveal it. “Well. Yes…that. I was just...well...”
“You were just what Doctor? Do you really believe I'm going to stand here covered in sticky goo and not get an answer?”
The Doctor considered this for a moment, weighing his options. On the one hand, he wasn't quite ready to tell Rose everything. But on the other hand, that 'sticky goo' hadn't been quite ready either, when it had-somehow-exploded all over Rose. He'd have to tell her. Or make something up. He considered for a moment, then realized Rose would spot a smart, impressive, scientific lie a light-year away. “Oh alright. You were in the kitchen, you said?”
Rose glared her assent.
“You didn't happen to notice anything in the blender while you were in there, did you?”
She frowned at him. “What blender?”
“Oh...it was just off to the side...hardly noticeable… You didn't touch it, did you?”
Rose began to look as if she was going to lose control. “Doctor,” she started, struggling to keep her voice calm, “what...”
But the Doctor cut her off. “Well, no, you obviously didn't touch it… Being, well, you, you probably would have noticed that it didn't...exactly...havealidonit.” He said the last few words so fast, Rose almost thought he was spouting some insane technobabble like he often loved to do. But then she worked out what he'd really said.
“It didn't. Have. A lid. On it.”
When the Doctor seemed intent on keeping his mouth shut at that moment, Rose decided to take a step in his direction.
Slightly unnerved, he took a step back.
A mischievous glint appeared in her eyes as she slowly backed the Doctor towards the back wall of the TARDIS. He was so focused on Rose that he didn't notice the step down until it was too late. The Doctor placed one foot behind the other…and instead of finding the solid grating there to greet him, he did what was quite possibly the most accurate windmill impression that Rose had ever seen. He careened backwards, arms flailing, and landed on his back with a loud metallic clash. Rose just stood there, dripping impatiently, arms folded in front of her again. The Doctor's eyes were as big as saucers (but not the flying variety), and then he shouted. “BROWNIES!!”
“What?” Rose asked, still angry but a little bit surprised.
“Brownies,” the Doctor exclaimed from his position on the floor. “You're covered in brownie...glop.”
Experimentally, Rose brought a sticky finger to her mouth and took a very quick taste--one could never be too sure when unidentified substances exploded all over you, even when the Doctor had claimed to identify them. “It's...it is!” said Rose, in utter astonishment. “What on earth...I mean, what was brownie glop doin’, explodin’ all over me?! I didn't even touch it! And what was it doin’ in the kitchen in the first place? I certainly didn't put it there.”
The Doctor's face instantly became an emotionless mask--except for his eyes. His eyes looked like those of a young schoolboy, caught at a flower shop and fervently denying why he was there. He adopted a stutter to match. “I--I was making...well...I just...thought...you might like...”
Rose shushed him by placing a finger over his lips. Slowly, teasingly, she stuck the batter-covered finger into his mouth and pulled it out. Adopting an innocent expression, she asked, “You were saying?”
“Um...” the Doctor replied, eyes locked on the now-clean finger. “I...” The doctor drew in a quick breath and sidestepped out of Rose's way. “You know, that's actually not half bad. I haven't made brownies in...ahh...well. Too long. Apparently.”
Rose turned and let her gaze follow the Doctor around the TARDIS console. He made quite a show of pushing random buttons and waving his sonic screwdriver at anything that looked a little bit out of place. His eyes were everywhere except on her.
“Doctor?”
“Hmmm?”
“Why...exactly...was that brownie mix in an uncovered blender?”
“Ah. Well,” he said, still poking around the console, “that just goes to show, you… you’ve completely missed the point.”
“The point.” Rose had finally caught the Doctor's eye and he seemed to be feeling too guilty to look away this time. “The point?” she repeated.
He put on his time-for-a-scientific-lecture-now look. “The point”, he began, “is not that the blender was uncovered. I just...forgot to cover it before I turned it on.”
Rose blinked. “You turned it on.” The Doctor just raised his eyebrows at her, so Rose continued. “From here?”
“The point,” the Doctor exclaimed in exasperation. “I was...well. I was...baking!” He started around the console, avoiding her eyes again.
“Baking,” Rose repeated in disbelief. “You were baking? Why? In all the time I've known you, you've never baked anything. I didn't even know you knew how to bake!”
The Doctor's eyes shot to hers at that last comment. “Of course I know how to bake,” he said, thoroughly indignant. “You think that after 900 years of traveling I wouldn't have learned how to bake? Mind you, I have had my share of catastrophes-” But he cut himself off. “Rose Tyler, you're still missing the point!” He brandished his sonic screwdriver at her. “I was baking.”
Rose thought it best not to argue, since she was sure she didn't know the half of what that screwdriver was capable of. She just nodded.
“I was baking,” he repeated. “For...” Apparently, his shoes now demanded his attention and he swept his eyes towards them. A small voice finished, “For you.”
She stared at him, barely comprehending his words. His beautiful eyes waited--no, begged for her to answer. “You...” she stammered. “You were baking…for me?”
The Doctor nodded once, but remained silent.
Rose felt all the anger she had melt away. “But...but why were you baking for me?”
“Oh Rose, isn't it obvious? I...” His eyes locked onto hers, wide and filled with an emotion Rose couldn't quite put into words. “I take you to all these places--oh, I try to end up somewhere where we'll have a nice time, sure, but then we end up”--his arms gestured wildly around him, nearly the same way they had windmilled earlier--“foiling some evil plot and running for our lives and I just wanted…I wanted to say...to tell you...”
Rose's eyes widened, hoping.
“Thank you,” he finished.
Rose didn't, couldn't say a word. Several moments passed. She just stood there, frozen.
The Doctor was still as stone, waiting to see what she would do.
Finally, she was able to say, “You didn't have to do that.”
He grinned at her. “Exactly.”
“Exactly what?”
“Rose Tyler--” he started impatiently, but checked himself. ”I think you should get cleaned up. You're dripping all over my TARDIS, and in case you hadn’t noticed, the floor isn’t exactly brownie-batter friendly.”
Rose glanced down at the almost see-through grating below her. She tried to hide a smile as she looked up again and pointed a finger accusingly at the Doctor.
“Oh no you don’t, you’re not gonna change the subject by claiming the TARDIS is in danger of brownie poisoning. I think if she can stand to have an entire thermos of my mum’s tea spilled all over her, she can take a few drops of brownie batter.”
“It’s rude to point.”
Rose’s eyebrows shot up. “Oooh, well, looks like the tables have turned on ya. My turn to be rude. Your turn to fess up. What d’you think you’re thankin’ me for, Doctor? You’ve shown me…” She looked to the ceiling for inspiration. “You’ve shown me the universe! The size of it all! The terrible, beautiful size of it all, and you’re thankin’ me? Why?”
The Doctor shut his mouth with an audible click and looked as if he wanted to be anywhere but here.
Rose shook her head, “Doctor, come on. You've already put your foot in your mouth so you might as well tell me.” She went to him, placing her hands on his shoulders, not allowing him to turn away. “Tell me, Doctor,” she said gently.
“Well...it's...you see...Rose you really are mucking up my TARDIS.”
“We'll clean it up later.”
“It will be glued on later.”
“Doctor...” she said, rolling her eyes.
A twinkle appeared in his eyes even as he hung his head in defeat. There was no way to resist her. All his defenses had vanished long ago, leaving behind only awkwardness. “Rose... Well, it’s like you said, isn’t it. Like we both said. Sure, I can show you the universe, and it’s…it’s beautiful, yeah, but…eighty-one-“ he paused, thinking. “No. Eighty-three. Eighty-three percent of the time, we end up running for our lives, Rose! You could die out there! Die. And… you still stay with me. I just thought…maybe…I should do something to…to thank you.
"Ohhh, but now that I think about it,” he said, pulling away from Rose and resuming his usual fast-as-light speech, “Now that I really, really think about it--what a stupid-brownies?! What a way to say thanks! ‘Thanks for almost dying for me, Rose! Have a brownie!’” He started around the console again, grabbing his faithful hammer to assist him in whatever “repairs” he thought he was doing.
The truth was, he didn’t know exactly why he had done it. Perhaps the baking had been brought on by their last two adventures… First the unnamed planet of ice where, for just a moment-after Rose had disappeared in the clutches of a truly terrifying ice creature-he thought he really had lost her. He hadn’t, of course, so he had chosen to take her to the 1950s for a bit of fun. But then she had lost her face-and seeing her like that was almost worse than losing her entirely. He would never forget how she looked, how it had taken every ounce of his self-control to stay grounded.
Maybe allowing himself to enjoy the coronation party had been too domestic for him. His brain must have been addled to be full of such rubbish. Why else would he have thought of brownies as a simple “thank you”?
The Doctor hurried around the console, trying to hide his embarrassment. Trying to forget the despair of their last two adventures.
A brown sticky hand stilled his, and the Doctor looked up into her shining eyes. “Thank you,” she said simply. “Now really, Doctor…what is the real point? Besides saying thanks and all.”
“I think you know.”
“You could still say it.”
“I...”
“Doctor,” she prodded, “I can say it for you, if you like.”
He watched her mutely.
“The real reason you mixed up brownies was because you've always wanted to know what I'd look like with mud-brown hair. Admit it!”
The Doctor grinned, “Yes, Rose. That's it exactly.”
She grabbed his hand and began tugging him out of the main chamber.
“Where are we going?”
“Where do you think we're going?” she replied. “You're going to help me clean up the mess you made. Starting with my hair.”
As the Doctor followed Rose obligingly out of the console room, he didn't even try to hide his smile. She had definitely gotten the point.