Ultimatum

By: doctorrosetyler

Summary: The Doctor gives her a choice. 10/Rose

Disclaimer: I wouldn't need this site if I owned Doctor Who. (Though I would love to own David Tennant...yum)

She really couldn't have helped it.

He was standing there, looking so dashing in his unlucky tux that she really, really couldn't be to blame. He really didn't have to let his hair get so mussed in their saving-the-world fiasco. He didn't have to put the sexy glasses on and grab her hand tightly as they ran. He didn't have to grin at her so widely.

He certainly didn't have to be so heavy on the flirting.

So yeah, she couldn't take it anymore. They got back into the TARDIS and the doors shut behind them. He leaned against the doors, heaving a sigh of exhaustion.

That right there was what killed her. His rumpled tux, mussed hair, glasses, and that smile…she was done. She simply jumped him.

One minute she was standing next to him, trying not to jump at him, the next she had him pressed against the doors.

He looked at her, startled at her sudden behavior. His eyes searched hers, concerned and slightly excited. At least she hoped that was the expression in his eyes. She couldn't tear her gaze from his lips. Her hands were fisted in his dress shirt and she was pressed closer to him than she had ever been voluntarily.

"Rose…what are you doing?"

She ignored his question and reached a hand up to weave into his hair, pulling his head down towards hers. He shivered as her nails scraped lightly against his scalp and his protests were completely gone. His hands came up to rest on her hips, his fingers warm through the cool silk of her dress. Before she could talk herself out of it, she kissed him.

The change was instantaneous. The loose hold he had on her immediately tightened, his arms fully wrapping around her and pulling her to him. Her left hand was trapped between them, wrapped in his shirt, and her right combed through his hair. His body, where it had been tensed in anxiety, was now simply tensed with passion. He wrapped himself around her in a way that only he could. She could feel his mind brushing hers and she did her best to open it for him- though she didn't quite know how.

His mouth was warm and cool at the same time. His lips took from hers and she was more than happy to give all that she could to satisfy his sudden hunger. She loved this feeling; it was like the Doctor wanted nothing more in the universe than to have her, right now.

She felt the cool wood of the door at her back and wondered just when he had pressed her against the wood. Just a few seconds ago, she had been in control of the kiss.

To be honest, she hadn't expected him to respond at all.

This was so much better than any scenario she had dreamt up in her head.

The TARDIS chimed and they broke apart. They stood there for a moment, her hand still in his hair and his arms still tightly wound around her. His breath came in quick rasps, as did hers. She felt his breath fan across her face and she wanted nothing more than to close that gap again. His grip loosened and disappointment shot through her.

His eyes opened and she gasped at the depth in them. His ancient eyes held such emotion- her heart skipped a couple of beats. He smiled at her and she saw the light of happiness in his eyes; something she rarely ever saw behind the pain her lonely god carried. She still felt his mind brushing hers and it was so glorious she didn't know what to make of it.

He was gone from her arms so quickly that she didn't notice for a few seconds. She turned her head to see him dashing madly around the console, putting them into the vortex. Without skipping a beat, he pulled the last lever and had her back in his arms, his lips pressed to hers.

She reveled in this new kiss, the way that he had thrown himself into it. She hadn't expected him to even acknowledge the first kiss had happened, let alone initiate another one. And the passion he was showing was so much greater than she had expected.

She leaned against him, winding her arms around his neck. His left hand traveled from the small of her back to her leg, and she lifted it for him. He removed her heeled shoe from her foot. Pain she hadn't noticed (his lips were a perfect painkiller) evaporated and she sighed as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. He repeated the process with her other shoe and she felt the angle of their kiss change to accommodate her height.

How could he manage to be sweet while devouring her mouth at the same time?

She had never felt this close to him, his hearts were pounding against her chest and his glasses were slipping down his nose and tapping her on the cheek. Every part of him was touching her and she absolutely loved it. She loved the way he tasted, it was nothing like she had expected yet it was completely him. She wanted nothing more than to continue kissing him for eternity.

The Doctor broke the kiss and pulled back slightly, pressing a small kiss to the end of her nose. He cleared his throat, trying to regain his voice.

"Um…we should go get changed…unlucky tux and such."

And then he was gone.

She sighed and slid down onto the floor, wincing and falling to her side. She pulled a shoe out from under her bottom and laid fully on the grating, growling in frustration.

In his room, the Doctor was in a similar state. He quickly stripped himself of his tux and donned his suit. His comfortable, normal, pinstripe suit. No unusual Rose-snogging had ever occurred in this suit. Weeeellll…there was that one time, but that was technically Cassandra who did that. No matter that it was Rose's lips. He smacked himself on the head for thinking that Rose's lips were much better when she was in control of them herself.

Why had she gone and done that? He hadn't been prepared for such an onslaught of emotion. He hadn't been ready to push his feelings aside and she had been on the receiving end of quite a bit of the emotions he had been trying to hide from her for the better part of two years (as this body…quite frankly his last body had loved her, too). He had tried to pull away and end the encounter after that first kiss, but he couldn't. He tasted her on his lips, smelled her on him, and saw her disappointed face across the console. It hadn't been a conscious decision to pull her to him again; he had done it before he had thought about it.

He hadn't wanted to end it.

Things weren't going to be the same between them now. She had to know now (if she hadn't before) that he returned her feelings enthusiastically.

He was so afraid to let her know that. Everyone he had ever loved in his life had been lost. He couldn't stand to see that happen to Rose. But on that planet, she had made it very clear that staying with him would always be her choice. Now it was out of his control and there was no way that he could live with her now and not kiss her again. Immediately, if you don't mind.

He heard her enter her room, next door to his, and he knew he would have to face her soon. It wasn't as though he hadn't wanted the recent events to occur…he was just afraid of what could happen if he let her be the most important person in his life.

It had only just occurred to him that it would be no different than how they were now; but they could actually be together instead of just wishing that they could be.

The taste of her on his lips wasn't something he could live without now.

In her room, Rose changed into her pajamas. Her lips still tingled from his and she could taste him on her tongue. The ghosts of his fingers tickled her waist and she wondered how long it would be before the withdrawals set in. She wasn't sure she could be around him and never kiss him again.

She fell back onto her bed, sighing in frustration and waiting for him to come to her room. They usually watched a movie after their adventures. It had become a tradition of sorts- he would make them both tea, she would get the blankets, and they would curl up on the sofa together in the small theatre room.

How was she going to lay against his warm chest tonight- and not run her hands all over him?

A knock on her door startled her out of her thoughts and she stood to open it for him. She swung the door open and the look in his eyes startled her. They hadn't changed since their lips last parted. He turned wordlessly, two mugs of tea steaming in his hands. She grabbed a single blanket from the linen closet.

Something was going to change- and it was going to be tonight.

They entered the dark room and she took her usual position on the sofa. He put the mugs down on the table and put in the movie before sitting in his typical spot. The movie began (she was far too distracted to notice what the movie was) and he reached for his blanked where she usually put it. His hand met cool leather and he looked at her, questioningly. She smiled shyly and slid closer to him, unfolding her blanket and spreading it over both of them.

This was something new. They had snuggled together before, but they had always been under separate blankets- there had always been a small barrier between the two of them. Now, there was no barrier.

The Doctor mentally smacked himself. It was a blanket for goodness sake. Nevermind the snogging and the fact that he loved her- they would watch the film peacefully and far warmer than they had been in the past. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him, spreading the blanket over them. He could feel her relax against his side, as if she had been afraid of his reaction.

He tried to concentrate on the film- he really did. But her scent drifted to his nose and his lips burned for hers.

She was in much the same condition, her entire being aware of every breath that he drew and beat of his hearts. She wanted nothing more than to make that heart rate increase.

She felt his fingers tighten on her shoulder and she looked up to meet his eyes.

He was completely gone. Before either of them could think, his lips were on hers again and he was devouring her mouth. She returned the kiss passionately, feeling immense relief at this recurrence of recent events. So that wasn't a one-time thing, then. He really had wanted that kiss.

She pushed closer to him, smiling into the kiss. After a few minutes they both pulled back for breath. His warm cheek rested against hers as they hovered in each others' embrace.

"Where do we go from here?" Rose asked into his hair. His stubble scraped against her cheek and she felt a surge of heat down to her core.

"I don't know." He said.

She snaked her arms around his neck, feeling her front pressed closer to his. "What are we doing?" she breathed.

His hands twitched at her hips. "What we should have been doing a long time ago, if we weren't so damn stubborn."

She laughed at that, pulling back to kiss him again. A few minutes later, he separated them. The movie played behind them and their tea grew cold on the table, both forgotten in favor of the company they kept. "And what is that?" she asked.

He broke their embrace and stood, offering her his hand. She reached for it before his voice made her pause.

"If you come with me now, we will be lovers. Everything you have ever wanted, I will strive to give to you. I will pledge my hearts to you and spend the rest of your life loving you. And it will hurt. Our love will be bittersweet, because you will leave me." He closed his eyes, the shimmering at the corners betraying the smooth tone of his voice. "If you don't take my hand…if we part tonight, we will stay friends. We will have adventures and run for our lives and go to separate bedrooms at night. We will be in love, but we will not share it. It will be lonely, but it may not hurt as much in the end."

She clutched the cold blanket in her hands, feeling the weight of her decision in her stomach. Could she be selfish and spend a beautiful lifetime adding pain to his eternity?

One look into his eyes told her what he wanted. She dropped the blanket, stood up…

And she took his hand.

A/N: So, what did you think? I know it's a bit short for my usual stories, but the plot bunnies were chasing me. I know that most of what I do is one-shots, but I have some stories I'm working on. I don't like to post them until I'm finished with them.

Please let me know what you think! Reviews make my day!

With Love,

Doctorrosetyler