Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Something was wrong with the Doctor.

Ever since Rose decided to stay onboard the TARDIS, he had begun to feel... odd. Yes, odd was the best word to describe it, considering he had never felt this way before. But why? The question plagued his mind. Was he ill? His Time-Lord biology kept most diseases out, but it could be that one had slipped past his immune system.

Yes, that was it. He was ill. It was the only explanation. So, as Rose slept deeply and peacefully one night, he pried his eyes away from her, (he had a habit of watching her sleep sometimes. Probably another symptom.) and sat down at his desk with a paper and a pen.

That was the first step of self diagnosis. Write down all the symptoms. So his pen flew around the page, jotting down any odd occurrences he could think of.

Blimey, there were a lot.

-Face gets weirdly warm sometimes (usually when Rose is close to me)

-Easily flustered (when it's about Rose)

-Want to watch Rose sleep

-Senses heightened, I pay more attention to details (about Rose)

-Instinctively grab Rose's hand (a lot)

-Hearts beat faster sometimes (When I make Rose laugh)

-Weakened resolve (I do whatever Rose wants)

-Overly protective (of Rose)

-Angry, bitter feeling in chest when Rose is with someone else (Stupid Ricky)

And that was it. Each one was... weirdly specific. Anyways, next step. The diagnosis.

The Doctor racked his brain of possible illnesses that fit this description, but he found none. Arrrggh, this was so frustrating. There had to be something! Some connection, some pattern, something to link it to. There had to be! He was missing something for sure. Something so obvious, something right in front of him, but what--

Oh.

He dropped his pen.

He realized.

"Damnit!" He buried his face in his hands, despair and agitation clawing at his skull. "No! Anything but that!" The TARDIS blinked her lights and beeped sympathetically, yet with a hint of amusement.

I'm sure you've realized by now what the Doctor's epiphany was. Frankly, it was obvious. The Doctor, last of the Time-Lords, Oncoming storm, 903 years old, was utterly head over heels in love with Rose Tyler. This war-torn, weary former soldier had been reduced to a puddle of emotions at the command of that blonde 19 year old from London.

It was ridiculous.

He was a mess, really.

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"Goodnight, Doctor!"

Rose's cheery voice was laced with sleepiness. Still, as always, her voice was gorgeously captivating to the lovestruck Time Lord's ears. She turned around and walked down the hallway with a yawn. This would have been a simple, casual, average action, but from the eyes of our favourite two-hearted alien, nothing was ever that simple. At least not with Rose.

The Doctor watched her stunning blonde hair swish to and fro, the dim lights of the TARDIS turning it to melted gold. He felt his face flush with warmth. Even when she was completely out of sight, he couldn't help but stare after her in awe. The Time Lord was so utterly entranced by Rose's beauty that...

"Liking the view, Doc?"

...He forgot Jack was still in the room.

Startled, he was thrust out of his dreamy state and whipped around with an embarrassed yet furious glare.

"Shut it, Harkness!" He snapped.

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It was a normal day for the TARDIS trio.

The Doctor had taken them to a dazzling planet, Jack wandered off and hooked up with a random alien, so Rose and her Time Lord were left alone to enjoy the view.

For Rose, the view was the awe-inspiring starry sky, and the way the grass lit up all sorts of colours when it was touched.

For the Doctor, the view was... well, you know.

"Seriously, Doctor, it's so beautiful!" Rose was saying.

"Yeah," He managed out, trying his best to pry his eyes away from his human companion. But she'd caught him.

"Awww, you think I'm beautiful!" She chided cheekily, a sly smirk lighting up her face. His ears burned.

"I don't know what yer talkin' about, Rose Tyler," The Doctor looked away to hide his flushed face, fidgeting with the cuffs of his sleeves. No matter his protests, the truth was he couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful she was. Rose raised an eyebrow with a playful grin.

"So you don't think I'm beautiful?"

"No, I mean, of course, but well--" He spluttered in embarrassment, blue eyes wide. Oh, if you could see him. The Oncoming Storm brought down to flustered protests at the behest of Rose Tyler. Ridiculous. The rest of the Time Lords would laugh at the mess he'd become. Blimey, he was acting like a little schoolboy with a crush.

"Oh, it's alright, Doctor," Rose giggled, giving him a comforting pat on the shoulder and ending his suffering, and they fell into silence.

The planet they were on was called Uakn'ar. It was great for stargazing because all the cities and light pollution remained on the other side of the planet, leaving the brilliant night sky untouched. And the grass, when it was touched, glowed stunningly in many different colours. It ranged from scarlet to cyan to a bright gold. Meant to be a biological warning against wild animals, but they were gorgeous all the same.

Suddenly, Rose gave a small yawn, and rubbed at her eyes sleepily.

"You best be off t' bed, yeah?" The Doctor told her gently, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Yep. Night, Doctor," She pressed a light kiss to his cheek before wandering back to the TARDIS.

The Time Lord stayed there, frozen. The amount of stars in the sky could not compare to the amount of stars in his eyes. He lightly placed his hand where her lips met his cheek in awe. Closing his eyes, he stored away the feel of her lips into his memory, momentarily wondering how it would feel if they met his lips inste-

No!

The Doctor shook himself off. He couldn't think that way about her. It was wrong! Bloody hell, he was too far gone, wasn't he? Well, of course he was. It was frankly blindingly obvious. You could only know him for an hour and you'd be able to figure out that he's absolutely smitten

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He set down the steaming ceramic mug down in front of a grumpy morning Rose. The blonde was never fun to be around during mornings, because morning require waking up, and waking up requires getting out of bed. So it was no surprise that she merely huffed an irritated "thanks" before taking a sip of the warm drink.

Her chocolate eyes suddenly softened as the liquid bathed her tongue, and she set down her mug with a slight smile.

"Doctor, you made it exactly how I like it," Her voice was light with pleased surprise. "Exactly how my mum makes it."

"Well, yer never fun ta be around when ya wake up, so I checked out how you make it," He rubbed the back of his head with a shy smirk. "Looks like it's workin'."

She giggled, her face lighting up, and the Time Lord's smile widened. He always loved making her laugh.

"Yeah it is," She brushed a lock of hair out of her face with a grin. "It's perfect, Doctor."

They fell into silence as Rose continued sipping her tea. The Doctor tugged at his ear, forcing himself not to stare at her.

It was hard.

"Would'ja like ta go somewhere fer breakfast?" He blurted out, unable to bear the silence. The tips of his ears went warm as he realized that kinda sounded like a date. Rose finished her tea and raised an eyebrow.

"What, like a date?" She stood to wash her mug in the sink. "And don't we have food in the TARDIS?"

"Well, yeah, but... it doesn't have every single type of food," He protested, trying to keep his voice casual. The TARDIS beeped in amusement. "There's this really nice place on Ardlexion VI! Ardlexion VI's got some of th' best food. Why have a spaceship if we can't go to other planets?" Rose considered as she put her mug away.

"Yeah, alright," She agreed. "Take us to Ardlexion VI. I'll go get washed up in the meantime, yeah?"

"...Yeah."

Before she stepped out of the kitchen, she went on her tiptoes and planted a small peck on the Doctor's cheek.

"Thanks for the tea, Doctor. Love ya."

The Time Lord's hearts stopped and didn't start beating again for a a few moments. He was frozen in place, his tongue numb. Stupid, stupid Doctor! Say it back before she... she's gone. The Lord of Time with his superior biology was paralyzed by two words, and he couldn't even get a hold of himself to say them back! He... he...

"Cat got your tongue, doc?"

...kept on forgetting that Jack existed.

Come on, Doctor! You're 900 years old, you can think of a snappy comeback before it's too late!

He couldn't.

All he did was glare in the ex-Time-Agent's direction before whipping back around to set a course to Ardlexion XI.