fic: Seduction
Chapter 2
Six months earlier
The Doctor bounced around the console, flipping switches and pressing buttons until he reached a large lever, and then turned to look at Rose.
“You wanna do the honors?” he said, a wide grin on his face.
Her eyes widened, a look of complete shock on her face. “Really? Can I?”
Rose wouldn’t have thought it possible, but his grin widened even further, his tongue touching his upper teeth in an unconscious mimic of her most flirtatious smile. He jerked his head towards the console, and she fairly leapt off the jump seat to join him.
Her body radiated her excitement, and the truth was he was almost as excited as she was. To see her happy, and to know he had somehow brought that happiness to her, touched him deeply and on so many levels, levels that over the centuries he had forgotten he even had.
“Alright, you need to do exactly what I tell you,” he said. “Put both hands right here.” He gestured to the lever. She stepped up to the console and put her hands exactly where he had indicated. Stepping behind her, he put his arms around her and rested his hands on top of hers. “Okay, when I tell you, you’re gonna slowly pull the lever downwards, towards the console. Okay, on the count of three. One, two, three, now.” She slowly pulled the lever down, his hands guiding hers. “Slowly, slowly, gently…”
The sound of the TARDIS materializing softly echoed through the room.
“Okay, we’re done,” he said, reluctantly removing his hands from hers.
“That’s it?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder at him, hands still on the lever.
“That’s it,” he answered.
“We’re here?”
“Yes, we’re most definitely here.” He beamed at her.
Laughing, she spun around and grabbed him in a hug, which he returned, closing his eyes for a moment in the joy of holding her. Too soon, for him, she broke away and grinned at him.
“So where’s here?” she asked.
“Outside those doors is the planet Azalea. Settled by humans in the 83rd century, it was so named for the predominance of flowers in its plant life. Particularly, of course, azaleas, although it has a number of other flowers as well. Millions, actually. In fact, each and every type of plant on the planet, from the grass to the bushes to the trees, has flowers, and right now, this is the height of Azalea’s spring. The entire planet is in bloom.”
“How is that possible? Shouldn’t parts of the planet have an autumn while parts have spring?”
“Very good, Rose,” he said. “Yes, typically that would be the case. But Earth’s seasons are caused by the tilt of its axis in relation to its orbit around the sun. Azalea has virtually no tilt, so its seasons are entirely caused by its position in its orbit and its distance from the sun. And it’s currently approaching its closest position in its orbit…”
“So it’s spring,” she finished.
“So it’s spring.”
She grinned at him, and he grinned back.
“Can I?” she asked with a jerk of her head towards the door.
“Go right ahead.”
She ran towards the door, flung it open and stepped outside. First picking up his long brown overcoat from one of the struts and pulling it on over his brown pinstriped suit, he followed closely behind her and closed the door to the TARDIS.
“Oh my God,” she said, looking around her, “it’s gorgeous.” Hands on her hips, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “And it smells wonderful.” She opened her eyes and turned to him. “Almost as good as applegrass.”
“Yeah,” he said softly, staring into her eyes, “almost as good as applegrass.”
And as she stared back at him, her mouth fell slightly open and she unconsciously licked her lips.
He swallowed slightly nervously, noticing how the bright pink of her jacket brought out the color in her cheeks, and how the sunlight bouncing off her blonde hair made it almost glow. Until he had met her, the Doctor had never noticed how beautiful the colors pink and yellow were. After a moment, he took a deep breath and forced himself to look away.
“Well, shall we?”
“Which way should we go?” she asked.
Craning his neck, he looked around. The TARDIS had landed in the middle of a field of wildflowers. To their left, approximately two miles off, was a forest, ahead, perhaps fifteen miles away, were the foothills of a distant mountain range, and to their right was a town about a mile away.
“Why don’t you choose?” he asked.
“Let’s see,” she said as if deeply considering the matter. “Trees or shops. Trees or shops. Trees or shops. Well, normally I’d say trees, but I know how much you like little shops…” She tried, and utterly failed, to hide a smirk. “I’d hate to deprive you of something you really like.”
He grinned. “Shops it is!” He took her hand and they quickly crossed the field.
“Doctor, what is this?” she asked.
They were sitting at an open air restaurant near the center of town. In the center of the table sat a platter full of flowers, and the waiter had brought them drinks in glasses the shapes of tulips with straws that resembled stems. In fact, Rose had noticed before sitting down that the floral theme continued with plates in the shape of daisies, the streetlights which looked like calla lilies and the chairs which were upholstered in a floral pattern.
Rose was motioning to her drink.
“You’ve got shooman,” he answered. “It’s one of the national drinks, the other being yoville. They automatically serve them here. A glass of each, so you can taste both. And if you don’t like them, they will bring you something else. They make an excellent chamomile tea here.”
“So I’ve got the shooman and you’ve got the yoville, right?” She took a sip through the long, green straw and nodded. “It’s… nice. Kinda like a fruit punch. Wanna try it?” She held it out to him.
He stared at her for a moment. They hadn’t come to Azalea on accident. It had a reputation as being one of the most romantic spots in the 83rd century. The real question was whether or not he was going to be brave enough to follow through, to try to change their friendship into a romance. As much as he had wanted to, he had been afraid to take the next step, afraid that if he got too close it would make it that much harder when he eventually lost her. But in recent weeks he had felt that it would be a bigger risk not to do it. Centuries were too long to live with the regrets of what could have been.
And he was sick of having regrets.
He took the glass from her outstretched hands and deliberately took a sip through her straw. She blinked in surprise.
“You’re right,” he said. “It is good.” He handed it back to her and took a sip of his own drink through his own straw. “Not bad. You wanna try?” he asked, looking into her eyes.
She took his glass from his outstretched hands and, copying him, took a sip through his straw, her eyes never leaving his. “Gorgeous,” she answered slowly.
Finally she looked away, breaking the mood. “Boy, there are a lot of flowers here. They’re everywhere,” she said, looking around. “A little obsessed with flowers, are they? I mean, I get the centerpiece…”
“We’re here during the annual flower festival. And that is not a centerpiece.” He grinned at her. “That, Rose Tyler,” he said, emphasizing her first name, “is our meal.”
“Flowers? We eat the flowers?”
“Yep,” he said.
She cocked her head and stared at it. “So what do we do? Just grab a bunch and shove ‘em in our mouths?”
“Well, you can if you want, but typically you take one at a time, savoring each bite…” He demonstrated, taking a white flower off the pile and eating the petals.
She shrugged her shoulders. “When in Rome,” she said. She took a purple flower off the pile and took a bite. “Huh. Tastes kinda like grapes.”
The Doctor gestured to some small bowls near the platter that Rose hadn’t noticed. “These are different types of dip. Yogurt based. You dip the flowers in and then eat them.” Picking up a flower, he dipped it in the nearest bowl and held it up to her mouth. “Try it.”
Staring at him wide eyed, she opened her mouth and he put the flower in, gently brushing her lips with his fingertips. “‘S lovely,” she said after she swallowed. “Is this some sort of custom on this planet, feeding each other?” she asked slowly, looking in his eyes.
He matched her gaze. “No,” he said softly.
Rose raised her eyebrows. She then picked up a flower, dipped it in the fruit-flavored yogurt, and held it up to his mouth. Slowly she grinned.
After their meal they wandered through the nearby marketplace arm in arm, periodically stopping to look at the merchandise for sale.
“What’s this?” Rose asked, carefully holding up a large red ball with sharp spikes all over it.
“Oh, now that is interesting,” the Doctor responded. “It’s the seed of the Ooman tree. After the tree is finished blooming, these seeds are produced and the tree literally throws them as far away as possible.”
“Throws them?” she asked dubiously. She put it back and they continued walking down the narrow street.
“The Ooman tree is one of the few trees that is actually capable of independent movement. Its limbs can actually function like arms,” he told her. “Of course, Ooman trees are nothing compared to the Forest of Cheem…”
Rose rolled her eyes, remembering Jabe from when they had gone to see the sun expand and the Earth destroyed.
“So does everything around here have to do with plants?” she asked.
“Pretty much,” he said. “At least right now.”
Further down the street Rose got distracted by a clothing shop filled with floral themed dresses. Letting go of her for a moment, he crossed to a florist across the street. He came back almost immediately and took her hand.
“Ready?” he asked.
She nodded, smiling.
Spotting a nearby park, they walked to it and sat down on a bench. It was nearing sundown and the park was almost deserted.
“This has been really nice,” she said. “We haven’t had to run for our lives, and we haven’t even been arrested once.”
The Doctor laughed quietly. “Sounds like the definition of a pretty good day.” He paused for a second, and then said, “Rose, I got you something.” He pulled a large pink flower out of his pocket.
“No, thanks,” she said. “I’m still kinda full from lunch.”
He grinned at her. “No, this one isn’t for you to eat,” he said. He reached up, combed her hair back with his fingers and stuck it behind her ear. “There,” he said quietly. “Beautiful.”
She stared at him in surprise. “Thanks,” she said softly.
He took her chin in his hand. “You’re welcome,” he whispered. To her surprise, he pulled her close and kissed her. And she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back.
Later, arm in arm they began to walk back through town to get to the TARDIS. Halfway through the marketplace Rose stopped. He glanced down at her. She had a vacant expression on her face.
“Rose, what’s wrong?” he asked in concern.
“Dunno,” she said. “All of a sudden, I just feel… funny. A little bit dizzy, y’know?” She looked up at him, a puzzled expression on her face. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Do I know you?”
And then the Doctor caught her as she collapsed.
Six months earlier
The Doctor bounced around the console, flipping switches and pressing buttons until he reached a large lever, and then turned to look at Rose.
“You wanna do the honors?” he said, a wide grin on his face.
Her eyes widened, a look of complete shock on her face. “Really? Can I?”
Rose wouldn’t have thought it possible, but his grin widened even further, his tongue touching his upper teeth in an unconscious mimic of her most flirtatious smile. He jerked his head towards the console, and she fairly leapt off the jump seat to join him.
Her body radiated her excitement, and the truth was he was almost as excited as she was. To see her happy, and to know he had somehow brought that happiness to her, touched him deeply and on so many levels, levels that over the centuries he had forgotten he even had.
“Alright, you need to do exactly what I tell you,” he said. “Put both hands right here.” He gestured to the lever. She stepped up to the console and put her hands exactly where he had indicated. Stepping behind her, he put his arms around her and rested his hands on top of hers. “Okay, when I tell you, you’re gonna slowly pull the lever downwards, towards the console. Okay, on the count of three. One, two, three, now.” She slowly pulled the lever down, his hands guiding hers. “Slowly, slowly, gently…”
The sound of the TARDIS materializing softly echoed through the room.
“Okay, we’re done,” he said, reluctantly removing his hands from hers.
“That’s it?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder at him, hands still on the lever.
“That’s it,” he answered.
“We’re here?”
“Yes, we’re most definitely here.” He beamed at her.
Laughing, she spun around and grabbed him in a hug, which he returned, closing his eyes for a moment in the joy of holding her. Too soon, for him, she broke away and grinned at him.
“So where’s here?” she asked.
“Outside those doors is the planet Azalea. Settled by humans in the 83rd century, it was so named for the predominance of flowers in its plant life. Particularly, of course, azaleas, although it has a number of other flowers as well. Millions, actually. In fact, each and every type of plant on the planet, from the grass to the bushes to the trees, has flowers, and right now, this is the height of Azalea’s spring. The entire planet is in bloom.”
“How is that possible? Shouldn’t parts of the planet have an autumn while parts have spring?”
“Very good, Rose,” he said. “Yes, typically that would be the case. But Earth’s seasons are caused by the tilt of its axis in relation to its orbit around the sun. Azalea has virtually no tilt, so its seasons are entirely caused by its position in its orbit and its distance from the sun. And it’s currently approaching its closest position in its orbit…”
“So it’s spring,” she finished.
“So it’s spring.”
She grinned at him, and he grinned back.
“Can I?” she asked with a jerk of her head towards the door.
“Go right ahead.”
She ran towards the door, flung it open and stepped outside. First picking up his long brown overcoat from one of the struts and pulling it on over his brown pinstriped suit, he followed closely behind her and closed the door to the TARDIS.
“Oh my God,” she said, looking around her, “it’s gorgeous.” Hands on her hips, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “And it smells wonderful.” She opened her eyes and turned to him. “Almost as good as applegrass.”
“Yeah,” he said softly, staring into her eyes, “almost as good as applegrass.”
And as she stared back at him, her mouth fell slightly open and she unconsciously licked her lips.
He swallowed slightly nervously, noticing how the bright pink of her jacket brought out the color in her cheeks, and how the sunlight bouncing off her blonde hair made it almost glow. Until he had met her, the Doctor had never noticed how beautiful the colors pink and yellow were. After a moment, he took a deep breath and forced himself to look away.
“Well, shall we?”
“Which way should we go?” she asked.
Craning his neck, he looked around. The TARDIS had landed in the middle of a field of wildflowers. To their left, approximately two miles off, was a forest, ahead, perhaps fifteen miles away, were the foothills of a distant mountain range, and to their right was a town about a mile away.
“Why don’t you choose?” he asked.
“Let’s see,” she said as if deeply considering the matter. “Trees or shops. Trees or shops. Trees or shops. Well, normally I’d say trees, but I know how much you like little shops…” She tried, and utterly failed, to hide a smirk. “I’d hate to deprive you of something you really like.”
He grinned. “Shops it is!” He took her hand and they quickly crossed the field.
“Doctor, what is this?” she asked.
They were sitting at an open air restaurant near the center of town. In the center of the table sat a platter full of flowers, and the waiter had brought them drinks in glasses the shapes of tulips with straws that resembled stems. In fact, Rose had noticed before sitting down that the floral theme continued with plates in the shape of daisies, the streetlights which looked like calla lilies and the chairs which were upholstered in a floral pattern.
Rose was motioning to her drink.
“You’ve got shooman,” he answered. “It’s one of the national drinks, the other being yoville. They automatically serve them here. A glass of each, so you can taste both. And if you don’t like them, they will bring you something else. They make an excellent chamomile tea here.”
“So I’ve got the shooman and you’ve got the yoville, right?” She took a sip through the long, green straw and nodded. “It’s… nice. Kinda like a fruit punch. Wanna try it?” She held it out to him.
He stared at her for a moment. They hadn’t come to Azalea on accident. It had a reputation as being one of the most romantic spots in the 83rd century. The real question was whether or not he was going to be brave enough to follow through, to try to change their friendship into a romance. As much as he had wanted to, he had been afraid to take the next step, afraid that if he got too close it would make it that much harder when he eventually lost her. But in recent weeks he had felt that it would be a bigger risk not to do it. Centuries were too long to live with the regrets of what could have been.
And he was sick of having regrets.
He took the glass from her outstretched hands and deliberately took a sip through her straw. She blinked in surprise.
“You’re right,” he said. “It is good.” He handed it back to her and took a sip of his own drink through his own straw. “Not bad. You wanna try?” he asked, looking into her eyes.
She took his glass from his outstretched hands and, copying him, took a sip through his straw, her eyes never leaving his. “Gorgeous,” she answered slowly.
Finally she looked away, breaking the mood. “Boy, there are a lot of flowers here. They’re everywhere,” she said, looking around. “A little obsessed with flowers, are they? I mean, I get the centerpiece…”
“We’re here during the annual flower festival. And that is not a centerpiece.” He grinned at her. “That, Rose Tyler,” he said, emphasizing her first name, “is our meal.”
“Flowers? We eat the flowers?”
“Yep,” he said.
She cocked her head and stared at it. “So what do we do? Just grab a bunch and shove ‘em in our mouths?”
“Well, you can if you want, but typically you take one at a time, savoring each bite…” He demonstrated, taking a white flower off the pile and eating the petals.
She shrugged her shoulders. “When in Rome,” she said. She took a purple flower off the pile and took a bite. “Huh. Tastes kinda like grapes.”
The Doctor gestured to some small bowls near the platter that Rose hadn’t noticed. “These are different types of dip. Yogurt based. You dip the flowers in and then eat them.” Picking up a flower, he dipped it in the nearest bowl and held it up to her mouth. “Try it.”
Staring at him wide eyed, she opened her mouth and he put the flower in, gently brushing her lips with his fingertips. “‘S lovely,” she said after she swallowed. “Is this some sort of custom on this planet, feeding each other?” she asked slowly, looking in his eyes.
He matched her gaze. “No,” he said softly.
Rose raised her eyebrows. She then picked up a flower, dipped it in the fruit-flavored yogurt, and held it up to his mouth. Slowly she grinned.
After their meal they wandered through the nearby marketplace arm in arm, periodically stopping to look at the merchandise for sale.
“What’s this?” Rose asked, carefully holding up a large red ball with sharp spikes all over it.
“Oh, now that is interesting,” the Doctor responded. “It’s the seed of the Ooman tree. After the tree is finished blooming, these seeds are produced and the tree literally throws them as far away as possible.”
“Throws them?” she asked dubiously. She put it back and they continued walking down the narrow street.
“The Ooman tree is one of the few trees that is actually capable of independent movement. Its limbs can actually function like arms,” he told her. “Of course, Ooman trees are nothing compared to the Forest of Cheem…”
Rose rolled her eyes, remembering Jabe from when they had gone to see the sun expand and the Earth destroyed.
“So does everything around here have to do with plants?” she asked.
“Pretty much,” he said. “At least right now.”
Further down the street Rose got distracted by a clothing shop filled with floral themed dresses. Letting go of her for a moment, he crossed to a florist across the street. He came back almost immediately and took her hand.
“Ready?” he asked.
She nodded, smiling.
Spotting a nearby park, they walked to it and sat down on a bench. It was nearing sundown and the park was almost deserted.
“This has been really nice,” she said. “We haven’t had to run for our lives, and we haven’t even been arrested once.”
The Doctor laughed quietly. “Sounds like the definition of a pretty good day.” He paused for a second, and then said, “Rose, I got you something.” He pulled a large pink flower out of his pocket.
“No, thanks,” she said. “I’m still kinda full from lunch.”
He grinned at her. “No, this one isn’t for you to eat,” he said. He reached up, combed her hair back with his fingers and stuck it behind her ear. “There,” he said quietly. “Beautiful.”
She stared at him in surprise. “Thanks,” she said softly.
He took her chin in his hand. “You’re welcome,” he whispered. To her surprise, he pulled her close and kissed her. And she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back.
Later, arm in arm they began to walk back through town to get to the TARDIS. Halfway through the marketplace Rose stopped. He glanced down at her. She had a vacant expression on her face.
“Rose, what’s wrong?” he asked in concern.
“Dunno,” she said. “All of a sudden, I just feel… funny. A little bit dizzy, y’know?” She looked up at him, a puzzled expression on her face. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Do I know you?”
And then the Doctor caught her as she collapsed.