How Do You Make a Woman Believe She's Beautiful? (2/7)
Title: How Do You Make a Woman Believe She's Beautiful?
Rating: T
Words: 1,758 (this chapter)
Summary: How do you make a woman believe she’s beautiful? Under the threat of one Jack Harkness, the Doctor is told to man up and take what is his before someone else does. A series of chapters where a person is at their worst and the other grows into himself.
Author's Notes: Here’s the second chapter! Enjoy! And this is still unbeta’d, so forgive any errors and feel free to point them out to me. Also, this chapter is dedicated to who_in_whoville for writing one of the most fantastic stories ever, ' Found and Forgotten'. If you aren't reading it, then what are you still doing here? I'm a bit obsessed with it if you can't tell. So, go read it!
How Do You Make a Woman Believe She’s Beautiful?
Chapter 2 - Do You Dance and Nurse Her?
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Admittedly, it wasn’t his smartest move ever. But she had looked so beautiful drenched from head to toe in the lavender scented rain.
They’d been on a planet called Nitidus Lymphae where the ocean glowed an iridescent purple color and the rain smelled like flowers. The people were peaceful, and for the first time in a long time, he and Rose hadn’t had to run for their lives. Part of him had been disappointed by that but that thought was quashed by the look on Rose’s face when it had started to rain.
“It smells amazing!” A bright smile lit up her face and she turned once in the rain, her hands cupped to catch the rain. “Is it okay to drink?” He nodded and she cautiously sipped at the water in her hands.
“The natives use the rainwater for healing because it’s the purest water in the whole galaxy. Each region has a specific scented and flavored rain used for different kinds of remedies.” He gave her a cheeky smile, “This is where the cure for cancer came from.”
“Ooh, I love this planet!” Rose put her hand out and caught more rain which she drank. “It tastes like… rosemary and honey.” She cocked her head to the side in amazement.
The Doctor smiled at the look of wonder on her face. This was why he travelled now.
Not to see things for himself, but to see the awe on her face. It made being kidnapped, captured, and put in nasty jails worth it. Anything to see those brown eyes twinkle over that bright-as-the-sun smile.
He reached out for her hand and took it in his own, smiling at the difference in the sizes. Her wrists were thin followed by small palms, feminine knuckles, and long fingers with nails varnished in a light violet shade. His own hand swallowed her smaller one. Rose looked up at him in surprise but he didn’t return her glance. Instead he raised his other hand and began to trail his fingers up the arm which he held onto. He felt the softness of her wet skin beneath his fingertips and suppressed a shudder. He wondered what that same skin would feel, bare and pressed up against him.
The Doctor shook off that utterly human thought and let his fingers continue their trail up her arm. He reached her shoulder where his hand rested for a moment, taking in their height differences just as he had done with her hand.
Owen had been right, Rose had a beautiful figure. She wasn’t stick thin and he adored her for it. Her legs were well muscled (thanks to their constant running for their lives) and he loved them. And while he’d never been much of a breast man (at least in other regenerations) he was now. Or at least when it was Rose. Actually, when it came to Rose, he seemed to like a lot of things. He liked her hair (it was soft and he knew for a fact that under that peroxide she was really auburn), her smile (it was one of the few things that could bring him up during his lowest lows), and her eyes (they were an odd hazely-brown-yellow color that reflected light in the most perfect way to make it seem as if there were stars in them. Yes, stars). Hell, he even liked her hands. After all, they fit perfectly inside his.
All these thoughts of how she was gorgeous floated around in his rather expansive mind and, not for the first time, he wondered why he found it so impossible to tell her how he felt. It wasn’t fear of rejection because he knew deep down that she wouldn’t refuse him. Maybe it was because he didn’t want to ruin them together. It would be selfish.
“Doctor?” She questioned, her head cocked.
Once again, he paid her no heed and went on with his exploration of her. Rose froze when his hand brushed against the outside of her breast, her eyes wide and unblinking. This didn’t deter him. His hand went on until it found its final destination - her waist.
Rose looked up at him, waiting to see what would do next.
Finally, he met her eyes as his one hand rested firmly on her waist and the other captured her opposite hand. Her eyes widened as she caught the gist of what he was doing. Nonetheless, she acquiesced and let her hand perch on his shoulder like he had done to her only moments before.
The Doctor stepped in close to her and felt the curve of chest brush against him softly. It took quite a bit of will on his part not to step closer and let their bodies conform to each other. But, it seemed Rose didn’t want him to hold back. She pulled him in closer until they melted together seamlessly; her palm curved perfectly into his, her soft breasts against his chest, and her chin against his collarbone. It was like one of their we-made-it-out-alive hugs, only she was close to him and all was calm.
It was as if she belonged there.
The two of them stepped for a bit, both completely at ease in the moment of silence where time, cheesily enough, seemed to stand still. And for the Doctor, it damn well did. The timelines around him weren’t fluctuating as they normally did. Instead they were still, as if sensing that the Time Lord needed just a moment of peace where there was no should be-could be-would-be nonsense.
Only peace.
Rose’s face nuzzled into his neck and he could feel her hot human breath against his skin. The Doctor turned his head, wanting to see if the tranquility he knew she felt was visible on her face. It was.
Serenity was painted over her countenance and he liked knowing he had put it there. Her eyes were closed and he focused on her face, taking in the small, bluish-purple veins under her eyelids to the soft pink of her cheeks and lips. Her breath brushed against his face and it was heavy with the herbal scent of rosemary and sweet with the taste of honey, just like the rain she had drank. He found himself wanting to see if she tasted like the alien mist, too.
But before he could do anything, she opened her eyes and blinked as she noticed how close their faces were.
Rose cleared her throat and moved back a bit. She laced her fingers through his and tightened her grip on his shoulder, though, as if to tell him she was still there.
“I thought you don’t dance,” Rose said in a mock accusing tone.
The Doctor’s lips tilted up at the corners. “Just seems like the perfect time to.”
Her eyebrow quirked, “In the rain?”
“What better time is there?”
She didn’t argue, so he took it that she agreed with him. After all, what better time was there to dance with her then when they were on a gorgeous planet where the rain shined in pastel tones and her clothes were sticking to her like a second skin?
There was no better time.
-
The Doctor winced as he heard her sneeze again.
“You’d think out of all those regions they’d have one rainfall that would cure the common cold!” Rose’s voice was muffled from under her blanket. At any other time it would’ve been comical to be talking to a lump of blankets, but now the Doctor was more worried than amused.
“You do have a point.” He tugged at his ear. “Some cultures don’t even have a ‘common cold’. But you do. And you humans, when you find a way to heal things, you go right for the big things. You figure you’ll treat cancers and AIDS before solving the good ol’ common cold.”
It was quite embarrassing really, but he had no cure for the common cold other than some broth and rest. Now if Rose had, say, measles or Raxacoricofallapatorian purple pox, he’d be able to heal her in a jiffy. But not if she had a cold.
“I’m sorry.” He said suddenly and Rose poked her head out from under her pile of blankets.
“What for?”
“For having you out in the rain. I forgot how susceptible humans are to temperatures.”
“’s not your fault.” Rose bit her lip for a moment, looking as if she was deciding to say something. “It was lovely and completely worth gettin sick over.” Her eyes didn’t meet his and he could see a flush settle over her cheeks that he knew wasn’t from her illness.
“I’m glad… But I’m still sorry you’re sick.” The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck.
She waved him off before reaching for her mug of tea. The Doctor got to it first, dipping his pinkie in the liquid to test the temperature. He found it to be a bit hot and blew on it before handing it to her. Rose merely looked at him, bemused.
“There’s no milk.” She complained.
“Oh, Rose, you know dairy causes stuffiness.” She pouted a bit before sighing and taking another sip before setting the mug down on her bedside table. He watched her heavy breathes with curious eyes. He’d never noticed the way her chest rose and fell before… It was kind of hypnotic, really. With the gentle slope of her breasts moving with each inhalation and exhalation, she had him entranced. How had he not seen this sooner?
“You a’right, Doctor?” Rose asked him, her eyes worried. He’d zoned out a bit; just staring at her unseeingly.
The Doctor held back a warm flush and nodded, his hand tugging at his ear nervously. “I’m fine.” He paused, “Do you need anything?”
Rose shook her head. “I should be fine with a few hours of sleep.”
He stood and was about to leave before he turned around and peered at Rose who was burrowed deep into her blankets. He leaned over, brushed her hair out of her face, and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Sweet dreams, Rose.” His sensitive lips took in the heat of her skin before he pulled away and left, keeping her door open in case she needed him during the night.
Because his back was turned, he completely missed the hazy smile of Rose’s face.
Maybe there was hope for them after all.
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