shelwass

Title: Too Close For Comfort
Characters: Ten/Rose
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Fluff, Romance
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, its characters, or its universe. It belongs to BBC.
Summary: The Doctor and Rose find themselves handcuffed together over a volcano.
Word Count: 578

They were dangling over a pool of neon green lava, suspended above it by only a pair of handcuffs looped around a metal pole.

“‘S this your idea of a vacation, then?” Rose quipped.

The Doctor frowned. “Oi! You’re the one who wanted to see something different.”

“I meant a beach, yeah? Not the inside o’ a volcano.”

The Doctor jiggled his wrist, testing the handcuff, much to Rose’s horror. “What’re you doin’?” she exclaimed.

“Testing the stability,” he said.

“And?”

“Made of solid steel, these handcuffs. Might cut off the circulation in our wrists after awhile, but we’re not going to fall out of them.”

“So how d’we get outta here?” Rose asked.

“Quite simple, really. Wrap your legs around my waist.”

“Sorry--do what?” Rose asked, baffled.

“We need to scoot across,” he explained, “And I don’t want to risk the handcuffs dislodging from the top, and us plummeting to the bottom. Need to create a solid, safe space, us.”

“An’ that involves my legs around your waist.”

“Yep,” he said, popping the ‘p.’

“Alright, then,” she said. Gritting her teeth--it felt like her wrist was about ready to fall off from the pressure--she looped her legs around him. She inhaled sharply at the contact. “Doctor?” she said.

“Errr...yes, Rose?”

“How are we gonna move like this?”

“Welll...” He rocked his body slightly, testing. It had the sole effect of jutting his nether regions into hers, causing them both to gasp. “Right, then. Sorry. Didn’t mean to, errr...well. Maybe I need a bit of a different angle,” he suggested.

“A...different angle,” she said, in a monotone voice.

“Yep,” he said cheerily. He tried to hoist his body up, grabbing the pole with his free hand. Rose mirrored his movement. “Okey dokey. Now...if we could just...” He moved his hand a few inches back. “Scoot...that away...”

Her free hand followed his. Soon they were scooting along the pole, bodies locked together.

Beads of sweat gathered on Rose’s forehead as, with great effort, she continued to propel herself forward. Every now and again, their bodies would move just so, and she would feel him, hard, pressed against her.

She didn’t say a word, and neither did he. They continued until, with bruised wrists and tired arms, they reached the end of the pole, where they dangled a few feet above solid ground.

The Doctor reached into his jacket pocket, snagging his sonic screwdriver. He pointed it at the handcuffs, and they snapped open. Simultaneously, he and Rose tumbled to the ground.

“Right then--remind me never to piss off the leader of Portavelli again,” the Doctor murmured, staring up at the metal pole that had been their life line.

“Wasn’t all bad,” Rose said.

“We were hanging over a great, big volcano. With--with neon green lava. Could have been radioactive, that. Turned us into a couple of superheroes.”

Rose grinned at him, and he grinned back. “Oh, alright,” he admitted. “Could’ve been a bit fun, that.”

“‘S not what I mean, though,” she said. “The part where you an’ I were...close.”

He flushed slightly. “Right. Yes. Err...that was...well, it wasn’t all bad,” he agreed.

“An’ if you wanted t’ be, I dunno, that close again...” Rose said, carefully closing the distance between them.

He swallowed. “Should upset the Portavellian king again?” he whispered, her lips mere inches from his own.

“Exactly,” she whispered, and closed the gap.