Fic: Sentire (4/9)
Title: Sentire (4/9)
Author: Ella Jane
Characters: Nine/Rose, Jack
Chapter Rating: R
Series Rating: NC-17
A/N: Everyone feeling better? *nods and smiles* We now return you to your regularly scheduled plot! It's still a bit of a sexy plot, though, so no need to worry your sexy minds. Sexy beta
invisible_lift gave me my favorite comment in the history of all comments in this section... and that's all I'm saying. ;) Thank you for reading!
x-posted to
dwfiction,
time_and_chips, and
better_with_3, and archived at Teaspoon.
PSA: Lighter text on a darker background may cause unsightly squinting wrinkles (for which Jack would offer you Botox, apparently). Click here to view the entry in your own LJ format.
part one | part two | part three | interlude
* * * * * * *
sentire: (L.) experience, feel, perceive, see, think, realize, understand.
* * * * * * *
Rose drifted from sleep, slowly, languorously. Her body felt heavy and tired, aching a bit in a few spots, but deeply satisfied, like it had been nourished in something it had been lacking for a long time. She sensed the body heat of one other person in the bed and instinctively burrowed in its direction, exhaling in contentment.
"Morning." Jack's voice was quiet, but awake.
"Morning," she replied, pulling her eyes open and smiling at the face she saw next to her on the pillow.
"How are you feeling?" Jack reached up and scattered his fingertips over her temple and cheek, smoothing back a few strands of hair.
Rose thought for a moment, then sighed happily. "It's hard to say. 'Good' doesn't quite seem to cover it."
He chuckled at that. "Yeah, I know what you mean."
Rose turned on her back and stretched, then relaxed again and nestled comfortably against Jack, who had turned from his stomach onto his side and now looked down at her with mild, but visible, concern.
Rose caught the change of expression. "What is it?"
"He's not here." Jack winced a bit. "Is it weird, or something, that he's not here?"
Rose shook her head and stretched again. "It's okay. He doesn't need much sleep. He doesn't stay when it's just me, actually." She shrugged and sat up, noticing an ache even in her shoulders as she settled back against the headboard. "Most of the time he comes back before I wake up, but not always." She smiled ruefully. "He has a hard time being in one place too long."
Jack rolled his eyes. "I've noticed." He sighed and mirrored her smile for a moment. "I just don't want to cause trouble. If it's a problem, I can try to make sure I'm the first to clear out, from now on..."
"I like that you stayed." Rose looked at him kindly. "I want you to stay. I'll talk to him, okay? But I'm sure it's fine. He wouldn't have left if it wasn't, even if that meant staring at the ceiling all night."
It was Jack's turn to stretch, which he accompanied with a roaring yawn before he sat up. "God, I need a very long, very hot shower. Unless..." He turned back toward Rose and wagged his eyebrows, then made an exaggerated show of trying peer down the front of the sheet she held clutched around her chest.
Rose laughed and swung a pillow at him. "Forget it. First of all, I'm starving. Second of all," she laughed, wrinkling her nose, "you really do need a shower..."
Jack had just grabbed his own pillow to return the strike when they both stopped short, their attention diverted by a flash of black leather as the Doctor ran past the door at top speed. They heard him stop, and a fraction of a second later, he doubled back to the doorway, staring in at them with a twinge of exasperation. "Oi, you two, get a move on! I found this planet where they took 'going green' to a whole new level. Every single thing is, literally, green! We're going to need some body paint, of course, otherwise we'll be arrested, but it should be something to see."
Rose and Jack stared at him, speechless and motionless.
"Well, come on!!" the Doctor shouted, then dashed off again. His two companions turned to look at each other with wide eyes, then broke into fits of laughter as they jumped out of bed.
* * * * * * *
At the end of the day, all three of them stood under the decontamination showers in the med bay, scrubbing themselves -- and occasionally each other -- free of green... whatever. When the last of it had swirled down the drains, Jack nonchalantly mentioned that he was making an early night of it, kissed Rose and the Doctor in turn, and headed out toward his own room.
The Doctor's brows knit together as he watched Jack leave. "Okay, well, that was weird."
Rose slipped on a robe and started to wring a towel through her hair. "Why? Maybe he's just tired. We've had quite a busy 24 hours, you know."
"Rose..." The Doctor finished pulling on a pair of sweatpants and turned to look at her, folding his arms across his chest. "Don't bother trying. What's going on?"
She sighed. "He's a little freaked out that you... left."
The Doctor shrugged, just slightly. "Did you tell him I don't sleep?"
"Yes, but that doesn't matter. I think it made him nervous that we were there alone. Without adult supervision, like." Rose paused, quiet for a moment. Something was puzzling her. "You didn't come back on purpose, right? I mean, when it's just me, you usually come back, but you decided to stay away this time."
"Yes," he answered coolly.
"Why?"
He took her towel from her and turned away, busying himself with tidying up. "To give you time alone, if you wanted it."
"Time alone?" Rose asked, skeptical.
"Yes," the Doctor said, his voice a bit indignant. "Time alone. To do... whatever. If you wanted it. It's not a big deal, Rose."
"Really." Rose didn't believe a word.
"Really," the Doctor spat back.
"So that's why you're being... like this?" She waved a hand at him in frustration. "Let me ask you something. Do you want time alone with Jack?"
He scoffed and adopted his most patronizing expression, as though she had just asked him if he wanted time alone with a Slitheen. "Rose. Please."
"Then why..." Rose paused, staring at him for a minute, until the realization dawned on her. "Wait, you're jealous?"
"Don't be ridiculous." The Doctor scowled at her for a second, thoroughly unamused, before returning his gaze to the floor.
"You are," Rose said, trying not to crack a smile. "Captain envy, a tiny little bit there, and I have to tell you, it just made me all hot."
"Rose, this isn't a joke."
"I'm not joking." She moved right into him, running her palms over the bare skin of his chest and leaning up to nuzzle his neck. "Here you are, all clean, and cool, and jealous, and I am so, so hot for you," she purred, breaking up the words with nips and kisses along his jaw, then pulling away to look him in the eye. "So listen to me. Leave and come back, leave and don't come back. Nothing will ever happen between me and Jack if you're not around. I told you last night, this is about all of us, and all of us means you. I need you there."
When he finally relaxed, and bent to kiss her, she teasingly backed away. When he looked at her questioningly, she held his face and whispered, "Don't you know I'm yours?" and kissed him with everything she had.
* * * * * * *
"Say it again."
The Doctor was over her, moving in her, rougher than usual.
"I'm yours," Rose gasped. She was straining back against the pillow, her eyes screwed shut.
"Again. Say it to me," the Doctor pleaded, bringing one hand to the back of her neck and gently but firmly tilting her head forward to face him.
Her eyes slowly opened, and she stared into him, taking a breath. "I'm yours," she said again, more forceful this time.
Then closed her eyes again, and whispered it to him, over and over, until the words were lost in her throat as she shuddered underneath him.
Hearing her, watching her, feeling her body clench around him, he closed his eyes and let himself go, following her release almost immediately, wishing he could also expel the untenable paradox that was starting to haunt him.
He knew she was speaking the truth, knew it in every bone in his body.
Yet he was completely unable to believe her.
* * * * * * *
It didn't take them long to settle into a bit of a routine. Jack had no problem letting Rose and the Doctor take the lead with regard to their sleeping arrangements on a night-by-night basis. He knew all along he'd be spending quite a few nights on his own, and he was fine with that, mostly because -- as much as he didn't want to admit it -- from time to time, he actually needed the sleep.
The Doctor, in turn, always deferred to Rose to decide how they spent the night. On any given day he was fine with either option, and he found that she still chose to spend at least as many nights alone with him as they did with Jack. He knew that this was likely a practical decision, as her body needed rest as well, but a part of him wondered if she wasn't doing it to reassure him, to make sure he continued to be okay with everything.
And he was, truthfully, okay with it. The addition of Jack to their company on a regular basis was interesting and pleasurable to him, certainly; he had an appreciation for Jack's beauty, much like every other creature with a pulse. But more importantly, the addition of Jack was interesting and pleasurable to Rose. He watched her eyes light up at Jack's playfulness, and also saw them go dark with a surprisingly strong passion when she watched him and Jack together. He saw her enjoying herself, reveling in her uniquely human sexuality, exploring another side of her adventurous spirit.
He supposed these things satisfied him, as much as he could ever expect.
* * * * * * *
The three of them were stretched out in a row, all of them on their backs, all of them breathing heavily. Rose loved this moment just as much as any that led up to it. There was something so comforting about it, the three of them together, awake, quiet, and satisfied.
After a while, she took a deep breath, held it for a second, and broke the silence.
"I want to try something... different."
Her eyes were wide and serious as she looked to her right at Jack, facing her on the pillow, then turned her head back to the Doctor behind her, who propped himself up on one hand so she could see him better, and so he could read her better.
"Okay," the Doctor replied, looking serious even as his eyes sparked.
"I want... I don't really know how to say this..." Here her voice broke into a small laugh, a nervous one, which she hated at times like these, when she was trying to be brave and mature, like them. She closed her eyes and took another breath.
"I want to try... what you do," she exhaled, looking again at Jack, then back up to the Doctor, then back to Jack as she spoke. "You know... the way... how you do it... men, you know, the two of you..." She could feel the blush rise in her cheeks and thought she might die as she lowered her eyes and burrowed her head into the pillow. She trusted them more than anyone she'd ever known, and this was the place she felt the safest, between them, surrounded by them. But she knew she wasn't at their level in age, or experience, or maturity, and she could still get embarrassed by forthrightness.
Rose felt the Doctor's mouth on her neck, and could have sworn it was in the shape of smile. She looked over at Jack as he reached a hand to her face. His eyes were on fire.
"Rose," he said quietly, "don't be nervous. There's nothing wrong with being curious about it. I mean, there are physiological reasons why men find it enjoyable, but I've known plenty of women..." he trailed off, finally giving into the kind laughter that had been creeping up his throat. He kissed her solidly. "Of course we can do that."
She smiled at him, feeling a bit relieved, and turned up to the Doctor. "What do you think?" she whispered.
"I think I'm fine with whatever you want to do," he said, kissing her himself now, in a gesture of reassurance. He pulled up and looked at her again, then lowered his mouth to kiss her temple as he moved his eyes to Jack. He said gently, "I think it should be him, though."
She turned to Jack, who was looking back at them with mild surprise. He had assumed she'd want the Doctor.
"Um, okay," she said haltingly. "I hadn't really thought about it, but whatever you think..." She looked back and forth between the two of them. She got so nervous even making the suggestion that she hadn't been able to think about what might actually happen, how it would work.
"I just..." The Doctor hauled back up onto his hand, looking at Jack steadily. "Don't take this the wrong way, Jack, but you've had a bit more experience than I have."
Jack laughed. "There's a wrong way to take that?" He mirrored the Doctor's position, up on his hand, grinning a grin the Cheshire Cat would kill for.
The Doctor rolled his eyes before looking back down at Rose. "Seriously, Rose... he'll have..." -- the Doctor searched for the right word -- "well... technique, I guess, that I might not." He fell back down on his back in frustration, then turned to face her and said, quietly, "It's a different thing, and I'm afraid I'd hurt you."
She smiled at him as Jack sat up slowly and cleared his throat. "Wait, wait, I'm sorry, let's just back up a moment. So what you're saying is, between the two of us, I'm the one with the moves, is that it?"
The Doctor stared straight up at the ceiling, pretending to curse himself. "Yeah, he'll be insufferable, now."
Jack laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back against the headboard, his chest jutting out. "You know, there's a saying, one that echoes near and far, all across the universe..."
"Oh, here we go," Rose said playfully, her eyes dancing.
"... all different times, all different races. Yes, ladies and gentlemen..."
"No, no, please..." the Doctor muttered under Jack's voice.
"That's right! Once you go Jack, you never..."
The Doctor groaned loudly and threw back the covers as Rose burst out laughing, giving Jack a sharp elbow to the ribs. Jack doubled over before falling across Rose and half laughing, half growling into her neck, his hands catching her waist and digging in to tickle her.
"I'm going to the shower," the Doctor announced as he rolled out of bed. He looked down in mock annoyance at the pair of giggling humans. "Anyone whose name isn't 'Jack' is most welcome to join me."
* * * * * * *
end of part four
part five
* * * * * * *
Author: Ella Jane
Characters: Nine/Rose, Jack
Chapter Rating: R
Series Rating: NC-17
A/N: Everyone feeling better? *nods and smiles* We now return you to your regularly scheduled plot! It's still a bit of a sexy plot, though, so no need to worry your sexy minds. Sexy beta
invisible_lift gave me my favorite comment in the history of all comments in this section... and that's all I'm saying. ;) Thank you for reading!
x-posted to
dwfiction,
time_and_chips, and
better_with_3, and archived at Teaspoon.
PSA: Lighter text on a darker background may cause unsightly squinting wrinkles (for which Jack would offer you Botox, apparently). Click here to view the entry in your own LJ format.
part one | part two | part three | interlude
* * * * * * *
sentire: (L.) experience, feel, perceive, see, think, realize, understand.
* * * * * * *
Rose drifted from sleep, slowly, languorously. Her body felt heavy and tired, aching a bit in a few spots, but deeply satisfied, like it had been nourished in something it had been lacking for a long time. She sensed the body heat of one other person in the bed and instinctively burrowed in its direction, exhaling in contentment.
"Morning." Jack's voice was quiet, but awake.
"Morning," she replied, pulling her eyes open and smiling at the face she saw next to her on the pillow.
"How are you feeling?" Jack reached up and scattered his fingertips over her temple and cheek, smoothing back a few strands of hair.
Rose thought for a moment, then sighed happily. "It's hard to say. 'Good' doesn't quite seem to cover it."
He chuckled at that. "Yeah, I know what you mean."
Rose turned on her back and stretched, then relaxed again and nestled comfortably against Jack, who had turned from his stomach onto his side and now looked down at her with mild, but visible, concern.
Rose caught the change of expression. "What is it?"
"He's not here." Jack winced a bit. "Is it weird, or something, that he's not here?"
Rose shook her head and stretched again. "It's okay. He doesn't need much sleep. He doesn't stay when it's just me, actually." She shrugged and sat up, noticing an ache even in her shoulders as she settled back against the headboard. "Most of the time he comes back before I wake up, but not always." She smiled ruefully. "He has a hard time being in one place too long."
Jack rolled his eyes. "I've noticed." He sighed and mirrored her smile for a moment. "I just don't want to cause trouble. If it's a problem, I can try to make sure I'm the first to clear out, from now on..."
"I like that you stayed." Rose looked at him kindly. "I want you to stay. I'll talk to him, okay? But I'm sure it's fine. He wouldn't have left if it wasn't, even if that meant staring at the ceiling all night."
It was Jack's turn to stretch, which he accompanied with a roaring yawn before he sat up. "God, I need a very long, very hot shower. Unless..." He turned back toward Rose and wagged his eyebrows, then made an exaggerated show of trying peer down the front of the sheet she held clutched around her chest.
Rose laughed and swung a pillow at him. "Forget it. First of all, I'm starving. Second of all," she laughed, wrinkling her nose, "you really do need a shower..."
Jack had just grabbed his own pillow to return the strike when they both stopped short, their attention diverted by a flash of black leather as the Doctor ran past the door at top speed. They heard him stop, and a fraction of a second later, he doubled back to the doorway, staring in at them with a twinge of exasperation. "Oi, you two, get a move on! I found this planet where they took 'going green' to a whole new level. Every single thing is, literally, green! We're going to need some body paint, of course, otherwise we'll be arrested, but it should be something to see."
Rose and Jack stared at him, speechless and motionless.
"Well, come on!!" the Doctor shouted, then dashed off again. His two companions turned to look at each other with wide eyes, then broke into fits of laughter as they jumped out of bed.
* * * * * * *
At the end of the day, all three of them stood under the decontamination showers in the med bay, scrubbing themselves -- and occasionally each other -- free of green... whatever. When the last of it had swirled down the drains, Jack nonchalantly mentioned that he was making an early night of it, kissed Rose and the Doctor in turn, and headed out toward his own room.
The Doctor's brows knit together as he watched Jack leave. "Okay, well, that was weird."
Rose slipped on a robe and started to wring a towel through her hair. "Why? Maybe he's just tired. We've had quite a busy 24 hours, you know."
"Rose..." The Doctor finished pulling on a pair of sweatpants and turned to look at her, folding his arms across his chest. "Don't bother trying. What's going on?"
She sighed. "He's a little freaked out that you... left."
The Doctor shrugged, just slightly. "Did you tell him I don't sleep?"
"Yes, but that doesn't matter. I think it made him nervous that we were there alone. Without adult supervision, like." Rose paused, quiet for a moment. Something was puzzling her. "You didn't come back on purpose, right? I mean, when it's just me, you usually come back, but you decided to stay away this time."
"Yes," he answered coolly.
"Why?"
He took her towel from her and turned away, busying himself with tidying up. "To give you time alone, if you wanted it."
"Time alone?" Rose asked, skeptical.
"Yes," the Doctor said, his voice a bit indignant. "Time alone. To do... whatever. If you wanted it. It's not a big deal, Rose."
"Really." Rose didn't believe a word.
"Really," the Doctor spat back.
"So that's why you're being... like this?" She waved a hand at him in frustration. "Let me ask you something. Do you want time alone with Jack?"
He scoffed and adopted his most patronizing expression, as though she had just asked him if he wanted time alone with a Slitheen. "Rose. Please."
"Then why..." Rose paused, staring at him for a minute, until the realization dawned on her. "Wait, you're jealous?"
"Don't be ridiculous." The Doctor scowled at her for a second, thoroughly unamused, before returning his gaze to the floor.
"You are," Rose said, trying not to crack a smile. "Captain envy, a tiny little bit there, and I have to tell you, it just made me all hot."
"Rose, this isn't a joke."
"I'm not joking." She moved right into him, running her palms over the bare skin of his chest and leaning up to nuzzle his neck. "Here you are, all clean, and cool, and jealous, and I am so, so hot for you," she purred, breaking up the words with nips and kisses along his jaw, then pulling away to look him in the eye. "So listen to me. Leave and come back, leave and don't come back. Nothing will ever happen between me and Jack if you're not around. I told you last night, this is about all of us, and all of us means you. I need you there."
When he finally relaxed, and bent to kiss her, she teasingly backed away. When he looked at her questioningly, she held his face and whispered, "Don't you know I'm yours?" and kissed him with everything she had.
* * * * * * *
"Say it again."
The Doctor was over her, moving in her, rougher than usual.
"I'm yours," Rose gasped. She was straining back against the pillow, her eyes screwed shut.
"Again. Say it to me," the Doctor pleaded, bringing one hand to the back of her neck and gently but firmly tilting her head forward to face him.
Her eyes slowly opened, and she stared into him, taking a breath. "I'm yours," she said again, more forceful this time.
Then closed her eyes again, and whispered it to him, over and over, until the words were lost in her throat as she shuddered underneath him.
Hearing her, watching her, feeling her body clench around him, he closed his eyes and let himself go, following her release almost immediately, wishing he could also expel the untenable paradox that was starting to haunt him.
He knew she was speaking the truth, knew it in every bone in his body.
Yet he was completely unable to believe her.
* * * * * * *
It didn't take them long to settle into a bit of a routine. Jack had no problem letting Rose and the Doctor take the lead with regard to their sleeping arrangements on a night-by-night basis. He knew all along he'd be spending quite a few nights on his own, and he was fine with that, mostly because -- as much as he didn't want to admit it -- from time to time, he actually needed the sleep.
The Doctor, in turn, always deferred to Rose to decide how they spent the night. On any given day he was fine with either option, and he found that she still chose to spend at least as many nights alone with him as they did with Jack. He knew that this was likely a practical decision, as her body needed rest as well, but a part of him wondered if she wasn't doing it to reassure him, to make sure he continued to be okay with everything.
And he was, truthfully, okay with it. The addition of Jack to their company on a regular basis was interesting and pleasurable to him, certainly; he had an appreciation for Jack's beauty, much like every other creature with a pulse. But more importantly, the addition of Jack was interesting and pleasurable to Rose. He watched her eyes light up at Jack's playfulness, and also saw them go dark with a surprisingly strong passion when she watched him and Jack together. He saw her enjoying herself, reveling in her uniquely human sexuality, exploring another side of her adventurous spirit.
He supposed these things satisfied him, as much as he could ever expect.
* * * * * * *
The three of them were stretched out in a row, all of them on their backs, all of them breathing heavily. Rose loved this moment just as much as any that led up to it. There was something so comforting about it, the three of them together, awake, quiet, and satisfied.
After a while, she took a deep breath, held it for a second, and broke the silence.
"I want to try something... different."
Her eyes were wide and serious as she looked to her right at Jack, facing her on the pillow, then turned her head back to the Doctor behind her, who propped himself up on one hand so she could see him better, and so he could read her better.
"Okay," the Doctor replied, looking serious even as his eyes sparked.
"I want... I don't really know how to say this..." Here her voice broke into a small laugh, a nervous one, which she hated at times like these, when she was trying to be brave and mature, like them. She closed her eyes and took another breath.
"I want to try... what you do," she exhaled, looking again at Jack, then back up to the Doctor, then back to Jack as she spoke. "You know... the way... how you do it... men, you know, the two of you..." She could feel the blush rise in her cheeks and thought she might die as she lowered her eyes and burrowed her head into the pillow. She trusted them more than anyone she'd ever known, and this was the place she felt the safest, between them, surrounded by them. But she knew she wasn't at their level in age, or experience, or maturity, and she could still get embarrassed by forthrightness.
Rose felt the Doctor's mouth on her neck, and could have sworn it was in the shape of smile. She looked over at Jack as he reached a hand to her face. His eyes were on fire.
"Rose," he said quietly, "don't be nervous. There's nothing wrong with being curious about it. I mean, there are physiological reasons why men find it enjoyable, but I've known plenty of women..." he trailed off, finally giving into the kind laughter that had been creeping up his throat. He kissed her solidly. "Of course we can do that."
She smiled at him, feeling a bit relieved, and turned up to the Doctor. "What do you think?" she whispered.
"I think I'm fine with whatever you want to do," he said, kissing her himself now, in a gesture of reassurance. He pulled up and looked at her again, then lowered his mouth to kiss her temple as he moved his eyes to Jack. He said gently, "I think it should be him, though."
She turned to Jack, who was looking back at them with mild surprise. He had assumed she'd want the Doctor.
"Um, okay," she said haltingly. "I hadn't really thought about it, but whatever you think..." She looked back and forth between the two of them. She got so nervous even making the suggestion that she hadn't been able to think about what might actually happen, how it would work.
"I just..." The Doctor hauled back up onto his hand, looking at Jack steadily. "Don't take this the wrong way, Jack, but you've had a bit more experience than I have."
Jack laughed. "There's a wrong way to take that?" He mirrored the Doctor's position, up on his hand, grinning a grin the Cheshire Cat would kill for.
The Doctor rolled his eyes before looking back down at Rose. "Seriously, Rose... he'll have..." -- the Doctor searched for the right word -- "well... technique, I guess, that I might not." He fell back down on his back in frustration, then turned to face her and said, quietly, "It's a different thing, and I'm afraid I'd hurt you."
She smiled at him as Jack sat up slowly and cleared his throat. "Wait, wait, I'm sorry, let's just back up a moment. So what you're saying is, between the two of us, I'm the one with the moves, is that it?"
The Doctor stared straight up at the ceiling, pretending to curse himself. "Yeah, he'll be insufferable, now."
Jack laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back against the headboard, his chest jutting out. "You know, there's a saying, one that echoes near and far, all across the universe..."
"Oh, here we go," Rose said playfully, her eyes dancing.
"... all different times, all different races. Yes, ladies and gentlemen..."
"No, no, please..." the Doctor muttered under Jack's voice.
"That's right! Once you go Jack, you never..."
The Doctor groaned loudly and threw back the covers as Rose burst out laughing, giving Jack a sharp elbow to the ribs. Jack doubled over before falling across Rose and half laughing, half growling into her neck, his hands catching her waist and digging in to tickle her.
"I'm going to the shower," the Doctor announced as he rolled out of bed. He looked down in mock annoyance at the pair of giggling humans. "Anyone whose name isn't 'Jack' is most welcome to join me."
* * * * * * *
end of part four
part five
* * * * * * *