#christmas nine
Nine/Rose ficlet for @timepetalsprompts‘s Ficlet Friday prompt of “our first Christmas.
Set at the end of The Unquiet Dead
“Not exactly what I was expecting from Christmas 1869,” Rose commented as she leaned back against the console. The Doctor had stabilized them in the Vortex already and was just fiddling with the viewscreen.
“No? Thought you lot associated Christmas with ghost because of Dickens,” he replied, not taking his eyes off the screen.
“I can’t believe we actually met Charles Dickens! It’s completely barmy.”
The Doctor glanced at her and was almost blinded by the brightness of her smile. There was a reason he’d been avoiding looking at her. She’d blindsided him when she’d walked out in that dress earlier in the evening and the hours between then and now had done nothing to diminish that. Somewhere along the way she’d lost her shawl and her hair was starting to fall but her cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkling from their outing and there was no other word to describe her but beautiful.
“Not too bad for our first Christmas,” he said with a small smile, wincing internally as the words came out of his mouth. He’d been so focused on not letting another comment about her appearance slip out that he’d forgot to censor himself in other ways.
Rose giggled. “Much better than suffering through Mum’s dry turkey and the traditional game of Monopoly with her and Micks.”
She outright laughed at the look on the Doctor’s face, ducking her face towards her bare shoulder.
He stared openly while her eyes were downcast. She sparkled.
His hearts skipped and he knew he was in deeper than he’d ever planned and so very smitten with this unexpected blonde wonder.
Rose looked up suddenly and caught the look in his eyes. Her smile softened and she stepped forward and rested her hand in the middle of his chest. He wondered if she could feel his hearts racing. If she could she must think they were going impossibly fast as she didn’t know he had two.
He was jolted out of his train of thought when she raised up on her toes and pressed a soft, lingering kiss just off the corner of his mouth. She dropped back down and ran her fingers down his torso a few inches before pulling back.
“Happy Christmas, Doctor,” she said in an almost-whisper, voice full of emotions he couldn’t even begin to name yet.
She smiled once more and then headed towards the corridor. He watched her go and had the thought that he would give almost anything to be able to live today over again if he could have this ending every time.
