Christmas Thoughts 2012: Questionable Holiday Traditions (1/8)
Title: Questionable Holiday Traditions (1/8)
Prompt: Mistletoe
Characters: Rose Tyler/Nine
Rating: T
A/N: And so begins my annual Christmas fics!! It's been awhile, be kind! And enjoy :D
Questionable Holiday Traditions
The door of the Tardis burst open and a fuming Rose walked quickly through. Her boots thumped heavily on the grating as she avoided the console and rushed through to the hallway until she found her bedroom door.
The Doctor rushed through not long after and produced furious strides across the console's grating and followed Rose's steps to her bedroom only to find it swiftly slammed in his face.
His blue eyes blazed, but he tried to calm his anger, "Rose, I don't understand why you're so upset."
"Oh really," he winced at the sarcastic tone, "so I should just let you treat me like a child every time we visit a new place, is that it yea'?"
He placed each of his hands on either side of the door frame and took deep breaths. "I do no such thing, and you weren't even paying attention to..."
Suddenly, the bedroom door opened and the Doctor came face-to-face with the angriest Rose he had ever seen. Her hair was slightly disheveled, there was a pink tint glowing on her skin and she was breathing heavily, making her chest rise and fall faintly.
It would have been the most beautiful he'd seen her if it weren't for the pools of tears that had gathered at the brims of her eyes. The sight of her made him stagger back a step.
"Rose..."
"No, don't because I don't want to hear it! I'm not a 'stupid ape' anymore Doctor! I thought you respected me more than that by now. You made me look like a fool in front of the Price of Alchibar!"
He wanted to tell her the reason why he did what he did, why he was so incensed at the conversation she was having with the Prince, but the words failed him.
Rose looked up at him and he couldn't ignore the hurt in her eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but he could tell that it wouldn't make a difference.
"Doctor, just," her tone was softer, hurt, "we'll talk tomorrow, pretend this never happened, like we always do."
Without another word or look, she closed the door. The Doctor watched the sliver of light extinguish underneath.
He rubbed his scalp and walked slowly further down the hallway until he reached the library. Once there, he sat down on the worn olive green couch and stretched his legs out.
The Doctor hadn't meant to upset Rose, but the Prince really shouldn't have been touching her the way he was. He had been talking to the King about the intergalactic conference they had just announced when the Doctor scanned the room for Rose.
It wasn't hard to find her, it turned out. His eyes honed in on the Prince's outstretched arm, his hand moving smoothly through the locks of her hair.
After that, he just remembered seeing red. He wasn't even entirely sure he had excused himself from the King. The Doctor simply rushed over, grabbed Rose's wrist and practically dragged her out of the building.
He sighed heavily; he might have also, maybe, yelled at her.
When did things get so...complicated? How was he going to get her to be happy again?
When did he start caring whether or not a companion was happy?
He could always wait for morning and they could just carry on without ever talking about this ever again.
Running away had always been his way out, but that idea suddenly made him feel worse. He closed his eyes and let the back of the couch cradle his head.
That's when the idea came to him. The one thing he could do for Rose that would get her to smile and possibly forgive him.
He smiled a toothy smile as he stood up and rushed to give his plan a start.
***
Rose turned over onto her side and refused to open her eyes. The memory of the day before came rushing into consciousness and she groaned with the realization that she'd have to "forget" about it. It annoyed her, but she was willing to let it go for the sake of staying.
She knew that the day she couldn't forget about it would also be the day she'd leave. And she never wanted to leave. So, forget she would.
She would have stayed in bed longer had it not been for the smell. It wasn't what she was expecting, the wafting smell of an English breakfast - an unspoken apology from the Doctor, of course.
No, instead it was the smell of...cinnamon? Cookies?
Curiosity got the best of her; she sat up, patted down her hair, swung her legs over to the edge of the bed and stood up. Her bare feet were silent on the floor as she made her way out of her room and followed the scent. She had expected to be led to the kitchen, but instead she followed it to the Tardis library. Her brow furrowed in confusion.
"Doctor? Doctor, what's..."
Her voice trailed off as the sight in front of her engulfed her senses. The cookie smell she had experienced was indeed due to a tray of sugar cookies in the shapes of stars, trees and ornaments that were sitting upon the coffee table. All around her were strings of tinsel and delicate chains of bells. In the corner sat a large Christmas tree, adorned with more tinsel and bells, but also ornaments of Santa Claus, candy canes and sweets. Twinkling lights were strung across its branches, the glow shining on the surfaces in the room.
"What, what's going on...Doctor?"
Just then, the Doctor walked in with two steaming cups of what smelled like hot chocolate.
"You're up," he wore a worried smile on his face, it was endearing, Rose thought, "I was about to go wake you." He extended a cup to Rose, who took it gratefully as it smelled delicious. She took a sip and the hot chocolate warmed up her insides.
She closed her eyes and took it all in, the smells, the taste - it reminded her of the Powell Estates and her mum.
"Do you like it?" said the Doctor, his voice in a hushed whisper.
Rose opened her eyes. He was standing in front of her, his mug of chocolate untouched and now being placed on the shelf behind him. It was sweet that he had gone out of his way to make Christmas for her. It didn't erase the hurt he'd caused her, but it lessened it just a teeny bit.
She smiled up at him, "Of course I do, Doctor. It's beautiful."
Rose watched as his face lit up, the large goofy grin she knew and loved plastered on his time-weathered face.
As much as she'd like to put up a front and make him pay work for her forgiveness, she knew that she'd always eventually give into that smile.
That's when she saw it.
It made her eyes grow wide and a hot blush spread across her cheeks.
"Um, Doctor?"
His smile dimmed, "What?"
She led her sight from him to the spot above his head.
The Doctor looked up and saw the sprig of mistletoe spread across the top of the door frame. He quickly looked down and appeared flustered. Rose smiled at his reaction.
"Don't worry about it Doctor, probably just a joke the Tardis is puttin' on, let me go change and I'll make you some breakfast."
Rose was about to side step the Doctor to get to her room when he stepped in front of her. She looked up at him, quizzically.
He avoided her eyes as he took her mug from her and joined it with his own behind him. The Doctor turned to her, and she saw something in his look that she'd only caught glimpses of before. It made her heartbeat rise in its rhythm.
"Some holiday, albeit questionable, traditions should be observed, when the occasion calls for it, of course."
Before she could ask, the Doctor took a step toward her, placed his hand on the small of her back and pulled her toward him. She couldn't understand what was happening as the Doctor closed the space between them and placed his lips on hers. The action surprised her and she could suddenly feel the tension in her body. Then she registered that the Doctor stood frozen. He was about to pull back when Rose's mind and body finally realized what was happening.
The Doctor was kissing her.
Before he could detach himself from her, she stepped up on her toes and reached behind his neck and pulled him closer. The tension in her lips and body melted as they felt his warm skin under her own. Their mouths moved softly and slowly together, the heat of his mouth welcoming her. His mouth opened slightly, his tongue gliding, tasting. Rose heard herself moan and simultaneously felt his grip on her waist tighten. She rubbed his scalp, losing herself in the feel of him.
The deep kiss tapered into shorter ones. Once apart, Rose looked at his lips, now faintly swollen, and his almost-sleepy eyes as they looked down at her. He still had a firm grip on her, was still so close to her. She let one of her hands trail to the side of his face. He let his face be cradled and Rose felt her heart skip a beat.
"What was that for?" she whispered, afraid to break the moment.
The Doctor smiled and with one of his hands, he pushed a strand of blond hair behind Rose's ear. The action that had seemed so unbearable when practiced by the Prince, felt so right when done by his own hand. He traced her cheekbone with his fingertips.
"Questionable holiday traditions should be followed when convenient, Rose," he smirked while she grinned up at him, "Plus, it's Christmas. Plus..."
Rose arched an eyebrow, "Plus?"
But the Doctor only smiled and answered her with another kiss.