Angst/fluff Prompt: "I wasn't lying when I said that I loved you."
Disclaimer: I have a lap. Does that count when claiming ownership?
A/N: written for allons-y-spaceman on tumblr. I am so sorry for the long wait for this one, but I wrote myself into a corner and had to totally start again with a new idea.

Lap It Up

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As things often do, it began innocently enough. A comparison, a quick decision to confirm a theory; and there they were. Locked. Well, sort of. More like a 'clutched' situation, to be honest.

"Did you know Martha told me you'd kissed her once?" Donna opened the conversation by suddenly asking one day whilst they sat in the kitchen sipping a celebratory cup of tea.

The Doctor's left eyebrow rose in query. "Oh? Is there any particular reason why she offered that piece of information?"

"Calm down. It wasn't a character assassination," she assured him with a comforting smile. "I'd merely asked her how you'd met and why she was so sweet on you."

"Isn't it obvious?" He grinned disarmingly.

"Your modesty lets you down at times," she mocked. "No, I'm bringing it up because I was wondering if you'd done that to Rose too."

He shook his head. "She kissed me; but she was possessed at the time, so it wasn't completely her."

"Ghost or alien?"

"Alien."

"Stands to reason," she dismissed. "So you never kissed her?"

"Not really. I used a sort of kiss to draw out the Vortex from her head to stop her being killed by it. Didn't do me much good though. Had me in bed in a coma for days. Took me ages to get over it. Almost missed dealing with the Sycorax the other Christmas when they tried to invade Earth." At her blank look, he added, "One third of the population standing up on the rooftops…"

"Oh yeah. I remember you saying. One of the things I missed."

"That'll be on your gravestone: Donna Noble Missed It"

"Nice to know I have your full support," she joked. "Anyway..."

Here it comes, he thought.

"Don't you like kissing humans? Or is it just not a thing with Time Lords?"

Oh. That was not the question he had been expecting; and was suddenly quite relieved. "I like kissing and have nothing against it, per se," he defended. "I just don't like public displays of affection. It was heavily frowned upon. And for me to properly kiss someone would mean a commitment that I might not be able to follow through with. I have my duty to time and the universe."

"Yes, but does it have to be another Time Lord you can do all that with, or can it be a mere human?"

"Donna, you are not a mere anything," he huffed.

But she had expected him to react like that. "Never mind the semantics, you've not answered my question. Why can't you commit to a human?"

His face fell, thinking of all the times he had had to push someone away for their own good. "Because you don't live very long. I'm left to watch you wither and die."

"How horrible. Ninety years tops is nothing compared to over nine hundred years. We must be like the equivalent of pet hamsters for you." She sat glumly contemplating his eons of loneliness. "Is it true that it is better to have loved and lost than to never love at all?"

"Oh yes," he readily agreed.

"Then why aren't you allowing yourself little snippets of happiness? You deserve to have the chance to love someone for a while, no matter how brief."

"I can't. The pain is too much."

"But you already love people. You've practically admitted that. Some giant foot isn't going to come out of the sky and squish you for following your hearts."

"You've been watching too much Monty Python."

"Perhaps I have." It was still close to home for him, but she wanted him to know that she'd support any future romantic liaison he chose to have. "Or you could just be telling me that you're a rubbish kisser."

"What!" he gasped in shock. Why did she think that?!

"Let's face it, if you were any good, you'd be doling them kisses out left, right and centre," she cheekily reasoned.

"Just because our kiss was hindered by ginger beer, walnuts and anchovies does not mean you can dismiss my kissing skills," he huffed.

"If you say so," she muttered as she took the last dregs of her tea down. "I'll never know now, will I."

"Are you challenging me, Donna Noble?" he pondered.

"More of a dare than a challenge, I suppose. Or would that mean me using my womanly wiles for a non-emergency?" she tormented him. "You certainly weren't keen to find out."

"That is not…!" he spluttered, remembering that moment on Messaline. "I didn't want…"

Her head tilted to the side, silently questioning his motives.

"I was protecting you from unwanted and disrespectful attention. You are worth more than that; and he didn't deserve to receive a kiss from you."

"My, that's a fancy way to try and shut me up," she voiced. "It's okay, I get the message."

"No," he insisted while his courage still held, "you've challenged me, and I'm determined to hear your opinion." He pushed his chair away from the kitchen table and then patted the tops of his knees. "Come on then. Try me out."

"You might regret this, Spaceman," she proclaimed as she launched herself from her seat and landed on his lap. His look of surprise was worth it all on its own; but she didn't want to break him or their relationship. "Here goes," she murmured before raising her hands to rest on his jaw, cradling his head, as she leaned forward to softly kiss his astonished mouth.

She had expected it to be all over in seconds, with him brusquely pushing her off his legs. No doubt he would have followed it with some lie about Time Lord physiology or other.

But he didn't do any of that. Instead, he kissed back.

The Doctor looked up at Donna and placed his hands on her waist, not wanting her to fall. It would be very embarrassing if she fell off his lap now. Would cause all sorts of threatening behaviour and personal damage.

Short but not sharp kisses grew slower, a caress of skin with adoration filled with longing. Like gifts upon a shrine.

Then more languid. There was no need to hurry this delicious moment, after all. It had to be savoured as their mouths moved together in exquisite harmony.

After a few seconds, his hands migrated southwards towards pastures green. Of course, he had careful plans for when the migration could go in the opposite direction and his hands would land on soft, ample territory. For now, he continued to enjoy the press of luxurious lips against his own, and Donna's hands following their own wayward path. So far, they had caressed the skin on his nape, but were currently combing through his hair, her fingers delicately scraping across his scalp before tugging closer tufts towards her in her thoughtless passion.

It idly crossed his mind that he hadn't had much of a concept of what humans called Heaven before, but this feeling, wrapped in the arms of his companion was his new definition. In fact, he was prepared to contemplate how heavenly his situation was for quite a lot longer.

How much of a touch telepath was he, she wondered as her fingertips graced over the buttons of his shirt; longing to delve further to feel his chest beneath. She thought back to a moment beneath Mount Vesuvius and her outburst. Would she ever be able to say: "I wasn't lying when I said I loved you"? To him, of all people?

No, she decided. It was still too soon to admit such a thing. Circumstances meant that he would have to make a love declaration first or not at all. After all, it was his way of living his life, under wraps, protected from destruction from evil plans.

So, still a little bit dazed, she pulled back to enjoy the sight of him, eyes closed, with a beautiful smile upon glistening lips that bore her mark. Her seal of approval.

"Yeah, alright, I believe you. You aren't a rubbish kisser," she allowed, letting his ego have this tiny boost. "Unless, of course, it's thanks to my womanly wiles that your kissing skills have improved."

His eyes immediately opened to gaze at her impudence, a smirk of amusement within his expression. "If this is a true experiment, then its consistency would have to be tested to validate your results. So erm… shall we tweak the variables and take our experiment elsewhere?"

Now this sounded interesting. "Where were you thinking?"

"Somewhere more comfortable than a kitchen chair. Perhaps one of the larger settees in the library, or a bedroom."

A bedroom might be a little too forward; just yet. "Let's go and recline in front of the fire in the library," she suggested. "That way we can test the romantic ambience of a room too."

"I like your thinking," he approved; and gracefully stood with her. "Allons-y."

She willingly took his outstretched hand. "Bring it on, Spaceman."