WHOA, sorry this is like hours late! I was on mobile and I didn’t expect I got anything. Thank you!!
29. “Can I take you on a date?”
“So…” The Doctor began, fidgeting, “Can I take you on a date?”
He hastened to continue, “Well, that’s—if you don’t mind, that is. No pressure, really, I don’t want to make you feel like you have an obligation. I just thought, ‘Hey, maybe she wouldn’t mind?’ and I—”
“Doctor,” Rose interrupted. She placed a hand over his, where it was threatening to completely throttle an innocent jar of preserves. He met her eyes with a slight grimace, relaxing his grip. “What’re you talking about?”
He regarded her then, some of his nervous energy melting into confusion. “I—Did I say the wrong thing somehow? Rose, I’m asking you on a date.”
She rolled her eyes. “No, I know that,” she said.
At her response, the Doctor looked hurt. His immediate thought was that she was rejecting him and it must’ve shown on his expression, because the next thing he knew she was sitting up. Something in her eyes shifted, a thought clicking in place.
“Doctor, look around you,” Rose said. She gestured at their surroundings. “Tell me where we are.”
He answered automatically. “The park. Why?”
She sounded like she was explaining a particularly difficult concept to a particularly troubled child. “What do you think we’re doing at the park?”
“Having a picnic, obviously. Rose, I really don’t get how this is supposed to—”
“And who decided we’d be having a picnic in the first place?”
“And who brought all the food?”
Rose waited for him to continue, to get the big picture, but it flew right by him. “Can’t you see it, Doctor?” she finally asked. “We’re already on a date.”
“Oh.” His eyes widened, “Oh.”
“Yeah.” Her lips curved into a teasing grin. “Took you long enough, you plum.”
The Doctor gave her a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck. “I figured you thought we were just hanging out as mates. So… if this is a date… then what does that make the others? The, uh, planetarium? The aquarium?”
Rose nodded, “They were too! And the fair, the museum, all those movie nights…”
“I wouldn’t be here now if they weren’t, now would I?”
“Right, right—of course—yes,” he babbled. Then he caught her eye. “Do you want to go on another one?”
Rose scooted up closer to him and bumped him playfully in the shoulder. “Let’s finish this one first, yeah?”
The Doctor bumped her back, a grin breaking across his face. “Yeah,” he beamed.
