Echoes of Summer - Chapter Forty - All That Matters
Disclaimer: Neither Doctor Who nor any characters, items or materials of any kind pertaining to Doctor Who or the Whoniverse belong to me. I’m just looking for a good time. Hee. Trying them out for a bit, see how they fit.
Plot Summary: He was left with his lips against her jaw, her figure pressed to him as if she belonged there. One of many moments between the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler after he breaks his own rules to retrieve her from Bad Wolf Bay. The walls between worlds begin to fall, two different realities merging. And on the horizon a threat rises that threatens to destroy everything the Doctor holds dear.
Pairing: Ten/Rose
Beta: bratflorida
Rating: Starts at PG. Runs the gamut straight through to NC-17.
Spoilers: Oh yes. Series One through Series 4 Specials.
Timeline: AU after the end of Series 2. Spoilers up to, including and going past Series 4 though. I’ve seen all of Series 1 through 4, including the series 4 specials but am not very familiar with the Classic Who much. As such, if I happen to include anything that really touches upon Classic Who, other than it being unintentional, I’ll be surprised out of my head. Really. You’ll probably see a lot of familiar things in the fic that play into the series of DW. Bear with me, it all ties in together.
Warning: NC-17 right here folks!! Proceed with Caution!
Chapter Forty: All That Matters
She chose his room. They passed hers by completely, walking in silence, his hand clutched in hers. He was aware of how warm her skin was through her grip, how peaceful she was in her head. As if this was how it was always meant to be, where they were always meant to end up, in each other’s arms. His eyes lifted to her back as she led him, straying from the skin of her waist to her blond hair. Her thoughts were calm, the complete opposite of his and even as he noticed it, he was aware that she could sense how chaotic the voice in his head was. He went to rear his thoughts back, to slow them down and she looked over her shoulder at him, a small smile quirking the corners of her lips. The mere presence of the smile threw everything from his head then. All he knew was that he wanted to kiss that mouth, immerse himself in her thoughts and her embrace.
She turned the corner into his corridor and his door waited only feet away. She went for it silently, taking him with her. Even as her arm lifted to grasp the knob, he was pushing the door open with his own hand, turning her to face him. That same hand came to settle across her cheek, lifting her face to his, his mouth stealing across hers immediately. She pushed close to him, releasing him to press against his frame and she was perfect there, her curves and her hot breath as she returned his kiss, as she demanded more. He blindly pulled her into his room, walking backward into the darkness, the only light that of the TARDIS corridor they had just left. He knew every inch of his room, knew how many steps it was until he would reach his bed, and as he thought it she did then as well.
The back of his knees hit the side of his bed and he was aware that he hadn’t been counting, hadn’t even been aware of how many steps he had taken, much too distracted by her lips and her hands. He could smell her on his skin, on his hand as he trailed his fingers through her hair, taking locks of it into his grasp. It was how he knew it would feel, its silken softness flowing through his fingers as she opened her mouth, as she tilted her head. The soft sound came from him unsteadily, his frame teetering against the edge of the bed. A moment later she had pushed him that simple step too far, forcing him to fall to the bed, her hair slipping from his hand. He raised his face to her instantly as their kiss was broken and she was lifting her knee, the denim skirt restraining her just enough to allow her to half straddle his lap. He leaned back slightly, closing his eyes as she lifted her other leg onto the bed, her fingertips passing across his temple, his cheekbone. Her touch took it all away, everything he feared would come in the morning, everything they had left behind. All he knew then was that they were exactly where they needed to be now. Her lips came down upon his and he instinctively opened his mouth to hers, tasting her, allowing her to taste him deep inside as well. She already knew some of his deeper thoughts, why not allow her more of it, more of him? He owed her that and so much more.
Seating herself on his lap, she lifted her other hand to his face as well, digging her fingers into his hair and latching on. She loved the feel of his hair; said as much through her purr and in that inner golden voice of hers, melodic and so very Rose. He wrapped an arm around her waist, dragging her close to him even as he lowered himself fully to the bed, taking her with him. As his back pressed to the mattress, he pulled her with him, fingers tightening along her side, from the curve of her rib to the swell of her hip. They had left her jumper behind in the console room, his hands floating along the smooth skin of her, elbows pushing into the mattress under him with the gesture. She felt right, her weight upon him and the caress of her hair as she kissed him, her tongue slipping across his. She couldn’t feel anymore right no matter how wrong the world was then. And he didn’t want the world to be wrong, didn’t want any of it to feel mistaken.
She mirrored the thought, nodding inside as well as physically and he immediately shut down his thoughts, bringing her to pause slightly. He was not going to permit her to see anything that was to come after this night and he allowed his head to drop to the bed with a muffled sound as she hesitated.
“Why are you blocking yourself off from me?” she asked him quietly, searching his eyes.
He shook his head slightly, lips tightening. “You shouldn’t have to see anything more than what I feel,” he replied and he raised his head to kiss her, gazing at her even as he did so. She returned his kiss with open eyes as well, her uncertainty hovering in their connection. But when he closed his eyes to deepen the kiss once more, she did the same, her hands lowering from his hair to his neck, his chest.
She shouldn’t have to ever see anything more than what he felt for her, he echoed himself, his fingers pushing her hair back from her face as he rose toward her, as he pulled her down to him. Nothing else mattered then. In the darkness with the light falling across the edge of her face and forming a halo around her hair, he allowed himself to gaze at her. A small smile lit her face as she met his eyes, as she read his thoughts. He still couldn’t say those words to her, even as they seemed to float in his head. It was all he heard from her though, those three words, hovering in her mind and on her lips though they didn’t pass there either. Only from one kiss to the other did they pass the words, the declaration.
He closed his eyes once more as she lifted her hands to his tie, as she undid it and tossed it aside. This was going to happen, he understood. All those years, never once allowing themselves to cross the line, but hadn’t they crossed that line earlier, only moments ago? He lifted himself from the bed slightly, refusing to break from her mouth as she unbuttoned his shirt, pulling the collar from his neck. She wanted him to sit up, wanted his clothes off him, desired him then and there. He sat up to help her, following her mental directions for she seemed far clearer in mind than he was at the moment. Was it because it had been such a long time since he had allowed himself to be with anyone? Was it because of her? That it was her he was allowing himself to be with? He didn’t know and couldn’t even think properly at the moment to much care. She was pulling his shirt from him, dragging it down off one shoulder to his elbow and then the same with the other side.
“Up,” she demanded in between kisses and he did as she asked, wanting very much to touch her even as she pushed his hands from her body. His shirt clung to his elbows and wrists as she pushed them down his arms and he was forced to break the kiss to turn his attention to it, cursing shirtsleeves then more than any other time in his immeasurably long life.
“Blast this…shirt-“ he growled as she laughed softly in his ear, as she lowered her lips to that tender spot below his earlobe. The caress brought him to a slow stop, his lips parting, all thought floating away to the gentle sound of her mental laughter. She was a sly little minx, he realized dimly. His body seemed to sway in her arms as she managed to free him of his shirt in the midst of her distraction and then toss it aside as well.
The trousers are going to be a bit tougher.
Her voice in his head was thoughtful, beguiling as well. He tilted his head to press against hers, unaware that his breath had quickened until he felt it lift his chest almost violently.
Unless we don’t take them off at all-
He turned slightly toward her, frowning, but she was pushing him back down to the bed, her mouth hot against his neck. His fingers took hold of the sheet under his body, tightening at the shiver that shot through him. “The trousers…need to come off,” he said to her in heaving breaths, one hand lifting to tangle in her hair and pull her lips to his. “They definitely need-“
Even as he went to finish his sentence, her hands lowered to his trousers and undid them, yanking them open under her. He felt the air touch upon him then, causing him to freeze rigidly.
“Or…you’re right,” he nodded at her, swallowing breathlessly. “They don’t need to come off at all-“
“Nope,” she murmured, returning to his mouth.
He lowered himself back down to the bed, quite aware of her heat against him, her hips pressing down onto his as she stretched out across him. Her weight settled him perfectly, his hands pushing into her hair and holding her face to his, unwilling to ever let her break the kiss again. Every part of her seemed to be pressed to him and he would never wish for it to be any other way, not anymore. Not when she felt much too perfect where she was at the moment.
Raising herself slightly, her head tilting to rest against his, she trailed her hand down between them, into the waistband of his trousers. He dipped slightly from her touch, his lips parting at the faint tickle of her fingers but a moment later her hand was enveloping him below and he inhaled, his head pressing back into the surface of his bed. He was hard and ready for her, the warmth of her hand almost too hot. He felt her turn her face back toward him, her mouth passing along his, tugging at his bottom lip. He couldn’t even attempt to fight her, not when he was so completely at her mercy the way he was. His eyes flickered open, his breath in his throat and the warm light of the corridor bathed her bare shoulder. He’d had a similar flash in the console room only moments before, of light streaking across her skin, illuminating her to him. Here in his bedroom she looked just as beautiful, just as haunting.
And that’s how he would always view her, he understood then as her fingers played below, the mental images and words transferring over to her as he thought them. Should anything ever happen where they were separated again, perhaps permanently, she would forever haunt him. Her hair, her expressions, her skin. The flash of gold in her hazel summer eyes. The mere vision streaked through his head, causing him to stiffen even more than her touch and he shut it down firmly then and there. She turned her head at having a door shut soundly in their connection but he was hers once more, a breath leaving him under her hand’s rhythm.
Achingly, he shifted his head from hers, his tongue flicking out to taste the salt of her. Then once more, his mouth closing into a kiss against the soft skin over the bone of her shoulder. She dropped her head down beside his, her fingers tightening around him and bringing him to stop in mid-breath. His hand lifted to cup the back of her neck, fingers hard against the pale column and she turned her face to look at him, her lips parted around her breath. He understood what the look meant, could hear her voice in his head even as she was moving. But all he could do was watch her as she rose from him, his fingers caught along her neck still. Her fingertips shifted across him, trailing up his shaft as she lifted herself from him only momentarily. He felt her steady him, positioning him just enough to take his head inside of her before shifting her hands to press against his chest. Almost blindly, he lifted his free hand to hers, clasping it to one of his hearts, aware then how quickly they both pounded, his hearts and hers as well. She knew what this meant as much as he did and even if she hadn’t, his words were echoing through their connection. It had been much too long. He’d never felt as strongly for anyone else as he did for her. This was one more step, he just didn’t know if it was in the right direction. What he did know was that he wouldn’t have wanted to take that step with anyone else. She gazed at him upon hearing his words, up reflecting them in her head. Then she was lowering herself onto him, enveloping him inside her tight walls slowly, perfectly.
His body straightened reflexively, his hands tightening on her, his breath tangling in his throat. Her lips came open at the sensation, a shiver racing down her spine and transferring to him and for a complete moment there was nothing but the feeling of their connection, of a union. She realized she was stiff, feeling fragile on top of him. Below her and inside her, he felt the exact same, as if the slightest force could break him into pieces.
Then, his fingers around her neck digging into the nape, he found words blossoming to life in his head. They were words he would never have spoken and even thinking them, he was swallowing them back. Regardless, he was unable to stop himself from thinking them, from sharing them. He wanted her to stay still because he was afraid he would break apart and float away. And yet he wanted her to move, to continue to fan the flames they had created between them. He wanted to burn inside her, wanted her to feel what he was feeling because there was no way to explain it aloud with silly useless words.
Slowly, she lifted her hand to his wrist, tilting her head slightly, her neck resting in his palm. With the same gesture, she rose away from him, taking away her heat before lowering herself once more to encase him again. His groan was soft in the physical world but echoed in her head, reverberating inside of her. She repeated the movement, if for nothing else but to hear him make that sound once more. He chuckled quietly under her, bringing her to tilt her head back toward him and he was watching her gently. “Heard me, did you?” she asked him dimly.
His reply came as a simple breathy yes even though he spoke inwards as well. “I can hear everything you think and see everything you feel,” his mental voice whispered, shifting in and out of every recess in her head.
She found the sensation positively beautiful; as if he belonged in her head and guarded everything she was inside. She gazed at him, her heart threatening to break and bring tears to her eyes. He caught the expression as it crossed her face, saw himself in her head as a quiet, shadowed protector and his fingers brought her down to him. She went willingly, bringing her mouth to his and requiring him to return the desire, the desperate need she had for him. He did so, his other hand leaving her fingers against his hearts and taking hold of her fiercely by the waist.
All I’ve ever wanted to do was protect you.
Hearing his words in her head, she began to rock against him, bringing him to break the kiss slightly as he inhaled almost in a gasp. She pulled her head back from his slightly, watching the expression shift across his face as she moved, as she lifted herself and settled back down around him. His head had fallen back to the surface of his bed, his chest rising against hers and she lifted a bit more to steady herself in the movement. Within a moment she had a rhythm and it did not take him long to catch up, to push past the initial feeling of her and then demand more. Always more. She reached for his mouth once again, wanting to feel his kiss, to feel the heat of his tongue. As he met her, she allowed a soft sound to break from her lips. He mirrored the sound, his hand urging her to continue, his fingers digging almost painfully into the nape of her neck even as his arm bent into her back. His thoughts were everywhere, becoming incoherent, jumbled. He wanted her to hurry but he never wanted it to end. He felt hot and cold at the same time, all over, and he was marveling at the scent of summer in her hair, coming from her skin. She broke from the kiss as she pushed herself to move faster, to meet his thrust, feeling herself moisten once more around him. He was well aware of how her body was reacting to him-
Quite favorably…
And she shushed him aloud and mentally, still giggling nonetheless as she quickened her pace, as she managed to push all quips and jokes from the forefront of his mind. The humor fell away, a clear idea coming forth. There was no time for jokes, not then and not tonight.
We have all of time for that, she whispered mentally. When he didn’t respond to that she found herself slowing, moving to search his face.
The expression on his face was heartbreaking, his dark eyes lifting to meet hers. As she paused to question him, to search his thoughts, he closed himself off once more, bringing her to stiffen worriedly. “What-“
Wordlessly, his arms tightened around her, dragging her to him suddenly. She saw in his head what he was about to do before he did it and a moment later he had turned both their figures, rolling her under him forcefully. The movement still caught her by surprise though and she began to speak again before he silenced her with a long, pained kiss.
What is it?
His mouth left hers only for a moment. “It doesn’t matter,” he murmured against her lips.
“It matters to me,” she whispered, her hands clutching him by his face and jaw, searching his eyes.
“Don’t let it,” he replied and now there was a slight note of pleading in his voice. “Let this be all that matters. Right now. Let this be it.”
She hesitated still, not understanding and not able to decipher anything from his silent thoughts. All she could read was his desire and his utter need for her then. With an inward agreement, she curled toward him, bringing her lips back to his. He accepted the kiss in relief, parting his mouth to hers and with the approval he dragged her close to his frame, pushing himself deep inside of her. She broke in the midst of the kiss to gasp against his mouth and he thrust once more, pulling out and shoving into her almost painfully, achingly.
Yes. Yes-
They didn’t know which one whispered it, which one uttered it. All that mattered then was needing more, moving forward. She wrapped an arm tightly around his neck, moving from his kiss to press the side of her head to his, her other hand dropping to the bed behind her for support. His hands fell away as well, one to the bed at her side, the other to her hip as he rocked against her for an instant. The touch of him against her center brought a slow moan from her, her mind stilling in blissful silence for a moment as she allowed herself to merely feel. That was the sensation there, and now he knew it as well.
Moving slowly at first, he tested her, aware through their connection what satisfied her, what left her desiring more. And once he had the rhythm, he began to move faster, the brush of him becoming a caress and then a steady rub, a dawning friction. Her hand dug into his hair, fingers almost becoming talons as he began to hit the spot just right, as she began to feel the stir of flames once more. She moaned against his ear, dropping her lips to the spot below his ear, brushing her mouth along his skin. A shiver coursed through him and he recoiled from it, unwilling to allow her to distract him. Because now that she was reacting, he wanted to see her finish, wanted to hear her say his name and cry, aloud and in his head. He moved against her, pushing himself deeper and deeper with every thrust, attempting to reach farther. She shifted around him, her legs tightening against his hips, feeling his every movement rock her against the bed. She loved the sensation, the feeling of being free. She was wet around him, feeling him slide in and out, and she began to push herself into him just as he would thrust into her, her heart pounding loudly.
Oh, please…
That had definitely been her this time as she said it mentally, as she pleaded it against his ear before tightening herself around him. She was so very close and she could feel him holding himself back because he wanted her to peak first. She pushed herself forcefully against his every thrust, prolonging it just that bit more, tightening and releasing with each movement. She was going to drive him to climax first if she continued it but she couldn’t make herself stop now that she had started. Not now that she was close enough to shiver, to taste it on her lips and tongue.
“Rose-“
Please, please, please.
He said her name again, his hearts pounding, a grimace crossing his face and she didn’t care. She urged him to move faster quietly, afraid that if she spoke any louder it would be to scream and that she wouldn’t stop until she came apart around him. She was sure he wouldn’t mind it but the last thing she wanted was to push him over the edge when he was struggling quite so much to remain in control. She stiffened slightly as his hand on her hip shifted across the soft skin of her waist, dipping low. And then the tip of his thumb brushed against her core just as he met her in one hard thrust and she felt herself break, her entire body going rigid.
There was nothing but the flash of white in her mind, the complete absence of words, merely a sensation that was hot and cold at the same time, searing her and bringing her skin to break into gooseflesh. And she was aware then that she was shouting out loud, half crying his name and half whimpering it against his ear. His shoulders were stiffening against her, his hand having curled painfully against her belly, his breathing labored. She cursed with a groan, attempting to find herself again through the heat that was erupting from her and she mindlessly tightened her legs around him, pulling him deep inside of her once more. “Keep going-“
He pulled out of her quickly, as far as her legs would allow him before repeating the movement, pushing as far in as he could go. She was heaving against him, tightening and releasing erratically and it was only a matter of moments now before he fell apart as well. Her inner thoughts mirrored his dimly and he couldn’t seem to make any sense of anything anymore, only aware of that peak he was striving for, that was within reach. He shoved into her, sliding inside cleanly now that she was completely slick all around him and then pulling out. Her scent hovered all around him, her breath hot against his ear, her fingers tangled in his hair and pulling, urging. Begging. Pushing her down fully to the bed, he shoved into her roughly, his hearts beating madly, reaching just that little bit more.
“Keep-“
He didn’t hear the rest of her cry for she tightened just the slightest bit in the waves of her orgasm, her knees against his sides. Deep inside, he felt himself shatter, his breath catching in his chest. Then he fell, coming apart utterly and completely between her legs, all strength leaving him. He came inside of her, a sound trailing out from him into a pained moan, his mind wonderfully silent. Beneath him, she was only then coming down herself, her breathing no longer in sync with his. He lowered himself to her slowly, carefully and she accepted his weight wordlessly, her fingers uncurling from his damp hair.
He didn’t know how long they stayed curled around each other, listening to the other breathe. He was aware after several minutes though that she hummed in her mind, her fingertips brushing through his hair almost absentmindedly. But they were content, the two of them. He felt it himself and he could feel it coming off her in warm waves.
“You’re thinking too much now,” she whispered against his ear, her breath tickling him.
He blinked against her cheek, unwilling to move ever again. “Am I?” he asked her faintly, wearily.
“Yeah,” she replied. As he rose slightly from her to meet her eyes, she was smiling softly. “But you’re also…humming. Not…like a song. But your thoughts, your…your skin. It feels like it’s humming.”
“As do you,” he said with a small tilt to his head.
“I like it,” she murmured almost shyly.
“Me, too,” he agreed quietly. His eyes reflected his words and he bent his head to kiss her slowly, languidly. She returned his kiss as best as she could but he could feel her weariness deep inside. How very typical of humans.
“Oi. I think that’s biological. Not like I can help being tired after what just happened,” she said with a soft laugh.
He pulled his head back to eye her. “I think you’ve taken quite enough strolls through my mind, Rose Tyler,” he said to her in a playfully firm tone.
She smiled. “Not nearly enough,” she disagreed.
His eyes shifted from hers down to her mouth and then back toward her eyes. He didn’t reply to that, instead lifting his hand to brush her hair from her forehead. “It’s ok to go to sleep,” he said instead.
She gazed at him, her lips tightening into a firm line momentarily. “Will you be here when I wake up?” she asked him and he detected the slight tremor in her voice, the humming in her head falling away.
He responded after a long pause. “Yes. I will be here when you wake up,” he promised her.
It was only when his words rang true through both their heads that she began to fall asleep. He watched the images in her head as she fell away, smiling faintly, curled around her lazily. Wonderful, colorful images that would become dreams. Her visions dragged him slowly into sleep as well and he knew he would dream of moonlit nights in summer, or the colors of summer twilight and the scent of flowers.
And just as he fell asleep, a golden flash of light crossed her dreams of summer days and winter nights.
Next Chapter - Chapter Forty-One - The Wolf at the Door:
Shaking his head, carrying her scent with him, he left his bedroom with that thought and made for the console room, one very last trip in mind now.
He had found her in the console room.