Author's Notes: Just a little one shot that I began at like, 2 am on New Years Day... and couldn't be stuffed to finish 'til now. I don't really care if you review or not 'cos more often than not I don't so begging you to give feedback would be hypocritical.

Disclaimer: Dude, does anyone need to bother with these things anymore?

Rose stood at the bar on an alien world, looking gorgeous and searching for the Doctor. He had shoved off half-way through the party, claiming he would be back in a sec... that was three hours ago. Rose looked down at her strapless white dress. It had beads and sequins making a wave pattern over the skirt and an embroided rose on the torso. She had danced most of the dances with different aliens, most of them relatively normal looking, but none with the Doctor, and now he had disappeared. She stood on tip-toes looking for him.

The Doctor stood in his hot, uncomfortable tuxedo in a small alcove, carved delicately out of the marble dance hall. He had been hiding from his companion for the last few hours. Seeing her dance with that many other men hurt more than he cared to admit, but he still didn't go to claim her. Looking down at his feet, he smiled at the sight of his familiar footwear. He glanced up at the bar again to see his companion, dressed all in white, looking more beautiful than she ever had before. He saw some seedy looking men eyeing her off on the other side of the bar. He slyly made his way up to the bar, trying not to be noticed by Rose. He knew he succeeded when he touched her shoulder gently, to be rewarded with a sharp intake of breath and a surprised facade. She visibly relaxed when she realised who he was. "Where were you? I've been looking for you for ages." She asked, annoyed at his disappearance. He just shrugged and nodded towards the dance floor, silently asking for a dance. She nodded and he took her hand in his. Nothing unusual. They began to sway together to the soft, slow, romantic music. "Did I ever tell you exactly what the people here are celebrating?" She looked at him as if he were stupid.

"You told me it was like New Years Eve."

"Well, it is... sort of. See, they're celebrating the ending of a harvest." He paused, seeing if she wanted more information. He looked down at her beautiful brown eyes, getting lost in their depth. Unaware of his movements, he leaned in, just a little bit. "And?" Her blunt question jerked him out of his trance. He mentally bereaved himself.

"And the beginning of the mating season." He waited to see her response. She stuck her tongue out cheekily.

"So all those blokes who were staring at me... they wanted me for a mate?" He nodded and tried to swallow. All of a sudden his mouth had gone dry as he realised the message he might be sending out.

"Well, um, in a word, yes." She grinned at him, not the reaction he had been expecting at all. As the song changed, they kept dancing and she whispered a question into his ear.

"Does that mean you want me for a... mate." They were so close to each other that it would've been impossible to see the other's face.

"Um, sort of." He could practically feel her grin mischeviously into his chest. He blushed when he realised what he'd just said.

"Do you want me?"

"Rose Tyler!" He exclaimed, horrified by her outrightness. "You've had too much to drink!" He avoided answering the question.

"So? Does it matter? It's not gonna change your answer." She pulled away slightly to look up at his eyes. She smiled. "Just answer one, tiny, insignificant question." The Doctor rolled his eyes at her attempts to weasle a reply from him. "You know, Rose, no matter how I answer, it's not going to change anything."

"So you have an answer." He felt like swearing.

"Not neccessarily." Her expectant, condescending look communicated that she knew the answer (even though she didn't) and just wanted to hear him say it. The Doctor sighed. "Maybe... sorta possibly. You know that you're sexy, right? Just like me." He gave her a cocky glance, as was usual. It was time to turn the tables. Leaning down to her ear, he whispered, "Would you have me?" She half-shuddered, half-sighed.

"If you need to ask, you're not as smart as you think you are." The Doctor looked down at her face, it was open and displaying all sorts of emotions. Nervousness, anxiousness, a bit of lust, love. Pure, unguarded love. He seemed drawn to her, gently moving one hand up from her hip to stroke her cheek. "Would you," He paused, "dance with me?" Rose sighed and melted into him.

"Would you like me to want to dance with you?"

"Well, only if you want me to want you to want to dance with me." The Doctor replied, laughing softly when a confused look crossed a more-than-slightly intoxicated Rose.

"What? Don't matter. Just a question, Doctor, will you kiss me?" He pulled back a bit. Really, with all the suggestive banter going on, he shouldn't have been surprised.

"One day, inevitably, you're going to get fed up with me for never acting on how you feel about me. One day you'll leave me and then I'll be all alone, heartbroken until I realise that I need you. I'll come running back to Earth, searching desperately for you, before kissing you senseless and making you promise never to leave me again. So, yes, I will kiss you. One day." Rose looked a bit bored.

"Oh, come on!" She groaned, frustrated. "Are you completely daft? Do I have to spell it out to you?" She licked her lips. "I want you to kiss me now." Before the Doctor could reply, Rose had an after thought. "And if you don't, I'll leave and make you kiss me when you come running back for me." The Doctor laughed.

"You're drunk." No, I'm acting drunk. Rose thought. The benefits of acting drunk were that the next morning, your friends thought you were the world's best drinker or had the world's best hangover cure. You could also do anything with anyone and act like you don't remember. And this was exactly why she was acting this way now. The Doctor continued by saying "You're very lucky you have me here to protect you."

"I don't need protecting."

"Not now, maybe, but when the fireworks start," He pointed out the window absent mindedly before gesturing to the room. "Everyone will find a mate and go off home to keep their race going." She looked at him as if to say 'Go on.' "And since you seem highly desired, you'd probably be fought over, then forced to go home with one of those blokes." He pointed randomly across the room again. "Against your will, although, the way you are now, you'd probably have anybody. Therefore, you're lucky I'm here so the second the fireworks are over, I can whisk you away to the TARDIS where we can continue our travels quite happily." Rose considered this for a moment. "Or you could get into the fight you predicted would take place and take me home when you win and claim me as your prize." Bless her, The Doctor thought happily, thinking she was drunk the way she was slurring her words and occaisonally slumping into him. Doesn't know what she's saying, thank god. Before he knew it, Rose was gone and he was standing by himself. He looked around and saw her being held by a humanoid, a bit shorter than the Doctor and ever so much more fat. Rose looked very uncomfortable, being squished against his sweaty body, squirming to be let go. He just jolted her closer and tightened his grip. The Doctor approached, all but growling, letting his 'Oncoming Storm' look come out.

"Excuse me, but the lady is with me." The Doctor tried to pull Rose away while doing his best to keep his voice calm. The other alien laughed, releasing a foul stench. Jeez, do they even have toothbrushes here? Rose thought, discreetly moving one finger up, getting ready to poke her way to freedom. "Nah mate, she's mine, been keeping an eye on her since she came in."

"Yes, well, she came with me. We're married, see? Got kids and everything." The Doctor casually lied, hoping Rose didn't give it away.

"Where's ya ring then, eh? Blondie here don't look like she's popped out a couppla little ones." The Doctor moved quicker than lightning, throwing the fat alien into the wall and pinning him there, pressing against his throat. "No one, no one talks about Rose that way!" He yelled, all but spitting in the fat man's face. "You let her go and I let you live." His voice had gone deathly calm. The alien released Rose, beginning to turn purple. The Doctor waited until she was behind him to let the nameless alien go. "Let's go." He said shortly to Rose, grabbing her hand and guiding her out the door to the grounds where the TARDIS was parked.

"Thank you, Doctor." He smiled at her, taking in her normal pronounciation and steady walking.

"You aren't drunk, are you?" She shook her head. "You weren't drunk, were you?" She had the decency to blush before shaking her head again.

"So, husband, where are the kids?" She asked cheekily, sticking her tongue through her teeth. The Doctor, who enjoyed seeing her blush far more than he should have, decided to try and make her do it again.

"Well, wifey dearest, we're yet to make them." He purposely let his voice drop, making it sound gravelly and lustful. When her flawless white cheeks turned dark pink again, he burst out laughing.

"You're horrible!" She said, laughing with him, and pushing him slightly with one arm. As soon as he got past his laughter, he began reaching for her.

"You're gonna pay for that, Rose Tyler!" He started tickling her while she shrieked and laughed. He chased her around the main control panel before her heeled shoe caught on the grilling and she tripped, he fell on top of her, still tickling her with her still laughing and almost begging him to stop.

"Okay! Okay! I give in!" His hands stopped dancing over her, settling on each side of her torso, supporting him. A few moments later and he hadn't made any effort to move. Rose was fidgeting beneath him, slightly flustered and breathing heavily. "So, you gonna get off me, or what?"

"Well, that really depends on this one thing."

"Yeah?"

"If I can find some motivation to move, 'cos right now... I can't think of a better place to be. Well, a better place to be that still involves clothes." Rose gasped, shocked by his words. They both jumped when several loud bangs echoed through the room. "Fireworks." The Doctor hauled himself off of her and helped her to her feet. When they stepped outside, they were greeted by large bursts of colour: Red, green, blue, purple, pink, orange, yellow. Golden sparkles flew through the sky, illuminating all that lay beneath in a golden splendour. A few minutes later, couples began to spill out of the halls, kissing and groping at each other. "Gives me a few ideas." The Doctor said suggestively to be rewarded by a laugh and an elbow in the ribs. "I'm hurt." He pouted at her, the fireworks beginning to fade above them.

"Oh you sweet talker, you." She mocked him, fluttering her eyelashes ridiculously and matching his pout. He laughed at the expression and slipped an arm around her waist. They stood like that, gazing up at the end of the lightshow.

"C'mon, you." He said gently, opening the door for her and stepping in after her.

"Tonight was fun." Rose said quietly, feeling shy like a teenager saying goodbye on her doorstep. Except they lived together and neither of them were teenagers.

"Yeah, yeah it was. Except for that bloke. God he pissed me off." The Doctor replied, suddenly angry.

"Doesn't matter, 'husband' dearest. Anyway, you haven't got your prize yet."

"I won a prize?" His clueless expression ruining the mood. She gave him a 'duh' look and pulled him closer, like they were dancing. As if on cue, the TARDIS began to play music. Slow and romantic with highly suggestive lyrics.

"Oh yes. And it's only valid until the end of this song." She tried to get him to understand. His grip on her tightened and she heard a distinctive 'Oh' sound. "Yes." She said simply, tilting her head up to his. "Anyone would think you don't want to kiss me." He visibly relaxed.

"Kissing? Is that all?" She laughed as she nodded before settling on a smile. Gently and slowly, he moved down to meet her. His hands moved to her back, pulling her closer before moving up to her neck. It seemed like an eternity before their lips touched. It seemed like an eternity before he broke the kiss and let her go. "You, Rose Tyler, are too much trouble." He kept a grip on her hands, rubbing them while she laughed. "And that's why-" He took a deep breath and sighed. "And that's why I love you." He looked into her eyes, trying to gauge her reaction. She smiled through tearful eyes and whispered something so softly, he half-thought he'd imagined them.

"I love you, too."

"Well then," He cleared his throat, "In keeping with the traditions of the natives. Would you like to help me revive my people?" She smiled at his awkward, nervous question and resisted the urge to laugh at his teenage attitude to it.

"Yeah." Her smile turned into a grin before he kissed her again. Repressed sexual tension was always likely to become un-repressed one day.