Fic, The Lady in the Fireplace, 27/32: CHAPTER XIII: Coming Closer, Part I

[loveslashangst]

Story: The Lady in the Fireplace
Author: Melinda Kitty melindakitty
Characters: Tenth Doctor, Rose Tyler, Reinette, King of France and (eventually) Ninth Doctor
Rated: Adult for slash, bisexuality, mature content, language, abuse of REALLY good champagne, and lots and lots of sex (multiple pairings/groupings)
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, 'cause if I did, Rose would be more BadWolf and less Angst, Ten would post a sign on the door sayin' "If the TARDIS is a rockin', don't come a knockin'", and half of their adventures through time and space would consist of finding new and unusual places to have a juicy shag.
Spoilers: AU, DURING "The Girl in the Fireplace". If you haven't seen the first three series of Doctor Who, you WILL be spoilered. I like to mess with canon. And you have my word that -- despite how this starts -- I'm a passionate Rose/Ten shipper.
Summary: OTP Rose/Ten with a lot of interesting liaisons along the way. So what exactly DID Ten do in Versailles? This French farce will have love, drama, sex, and eventually as close to a happy ending as I can manage. Be forewarned, though, I may take you places that would make RTD's head explode.

On with the show:

(In which Nine teaches Rose a lesson and Ten gets the last laugh.)

(Some shower scenes are just too much fun to limit to one chapter.)



“Giving you something to remember me by,” Nine purrs.

The kiss shouldn’t be this good. The Doctor shouldn’t want to run his hands up the other man’s back. (Himself. He’s touching himself. Does this count as masturbation?) Sweet, deep kisses. A sizzle of quantum energy. The familiar taste of a being who’s from everywhere and nowhere. A tinge of Time herself. No one snogs better than a Time Lord. (Though Rose is close, especially as he’s developing a taste for bruises and out-of-body experiences.)

Nine walks them to the wall. Cool tiles at his back. God, the man has an amazing tongue. (And apparently it’s good for more than talking. Who knew?) Surprisingly expressive lips too. Mind the teeth, though -- it’s not just the quantum traces that have a sexy bite. Nine reaches up. Aims the shower head so the water pours over them. Makes the Doctor forget everything but a strong, sensuous mouth and expressive hands.

No wonder Rose loved this.

A strong hand encircles his shaft. “What are you...?”

“Something to remember me by,” Nine purrs again.

He closes his eyes in pleasure. Oh yes. The man definitely has beautiful hands. He surrenders to the knowing touch. Gasps when the other hand reaches lower. Sure fingers find the... Oh, God!

He looks at Nine in surprise.

“I’m you, remember?” he murmurs. “Have you shown her this little extra bit yet?”

Hard to think straight. “N-n-no.” So long. It’s been so long since anyone knew. He’s so accustomed to passing for any other bipedal male. Not since Romana... And the third pair of labia on Time Ladies usually lined up perfectly with... Oh, that’s perfect! He swoons as sure fingers find just the right fold. Grabs for Nine’s shoulder. Nine kisses him again, a good hard snog. Tingles of stray quarks zip through the air.

A wolf-whistle from the door. He and Nine both look. Rose stands, arms folded, amused and slightly reproachful. “I can’t leave you boys alone for a minute, can I?”

“Rose! Um... Hello.” He forces his eyes to focus.

She shuts the door, clad only in his coat. (And that’s sexier than it really should be.)

Explanation. Need to explain. She’s human; she’ll be upset.

His ninth grins. “Look who’s awake!” An especially delicious caress across... oh GOD! Rough fingertips bring him high. Higher. The Doctor loses the ability to think straight. Quantum... Sweet burning...

“Feeling better?” says Nine to Rose. How can he be so goddamn calm?

Rose represses a smile. “Yeah. Much. Just needed a bit of a rest. You?”

Nine shrugs. (Those hands. The Doctor’s going to explode while the two of them engage in small talk. Then he’s going to KILL Nine.) “Oh, you know me. I always enjoy myself.” The last is punctuated by a wicked smile.

The Doctor makes several thoroughly undignified and un-Time-Lord-y noises. (The man MUST be double-jointed.)

Rose giggles at him, the traitor. “Is he all right?”

Nine turns a piercing gaze to him. (Upright. Have to remain upright. Not going to give Nine the satisfaction of turning him to... Ooooooooh! That’s lovely!) “Better than all right, I’d say, judging by the sheer quantity of energy he’s gathering -- and that lovely shade of puce he’s turning.”

Nine smiles at Rose. “Come here, love. I want to show you something. Consider it a parting gift to you both.”

He has a moment of abject horror. “You’re n-not g-g-going t-t-t-t-to--” Whatever he was going to say is lost as those damn fingers... He cries out. Temporal energy flows in and around him. God, it’s been so long...

“Quiet, you,” growls Nine. Rose sheds the coat. Steps into the cubicle, curious. His ninth makes room for her under the spray of hot water.

“Anatomy lesson,” his other self continues. (All while keeping up the blissful torture. Damn him!) “Basic rule of the universe. Bipedal females tend to have some external centre of pleasure. Something that you can rub the right way to make sure sex feels good. Ensures the continuation of the species because another rule of the universe is most beings will do what feels good, even if it gets them in trouble.”

Nine reaches out with his other hand. Curves to cup Rose’s groin. Begins a rhythm that makes her eyes roll closed and a high flush appear on her cheeks. “Exhibit A,” he purrs.

Rose swoons a little. “Okay, now you have my attention.”

Nine kisses her gently. Withdraws his hand. She shivers, grinning. (But his ninth doesn’t spare him. No, that would be polite. And reasonable. And oh GOD, YES! Right there!)

Golden threads of light sizzle around him. He’s so bloody close.

“Bipedal males also tend to have some sensor for pleasure,” Nine continues, as calm as if he were lecturing a roomful of students. “But the universe plays a practical joke on most of us blokes. Puts the thing in someplace awkward, hard to reach, unpleasant, or -- as in human males -- all of the above.”

He recovers speech for a moment. “...N-not a t-t-t-teaching aid-d-d-d-d--” The rest of the sentence devolves into a humiliating string of gibberish as Nine’s skilful fingers thoroughly undo him. (He’ll have to remember how to do this later. Angle will be different, though.)

“I said QUIET, you.” Nine brings him even closer. Turns to Rose, who watches in rapt fascination. “But Time Lords are the exception to many things. We were among the first of the sentient races and we’re fundamentally quantum animals -- not fully matter and not fully energy. It’s that flux that allows us to cheat death through regeneration -- remake the whole physical form up to and including DNA itself, all without sacrificing the mind and soul behind it. And because we were among the first, our sensor is external.” He grins. “Now here’s where things get interesting; rub US the right way and all kinds of unusual things happen.”

The bastard has him teetering between bliss and frustration. “Rassilon!” he sobs.

“There,” says Nine, smug. “You know you’ve got him if he starts using Gallifreyan oaths. Now watch this.”

Nine catches his eyes in an intense, blue stare. Brings him hard. A burst of temporal energy fills the room. Explodes. Shatters him. He can taste the Vortex.

He’s dimly aware of Rose’s. “Wow.”

He leans hard against the wall, struggling to pull himself together. He’s settled for less for so long he’s almost forgotten what it should really be like.

“Can I try?” Rose is enjoying this entirely too much.

“Give the poor lad a minute,” says Nine. Maybe he won’t kill him. (Not for a bit, anyway. Have to recover all the sensation in his hands before he’ll be able to strangle his ninth. Have to be able to breathe right too... And to think straight...)

Rose kisses him gently. A brush of lips. And he can feel the way she’s changed. Familiar. Not the same as a Time Lady, but close. Resonant in such beautiful ways. Her fingertips touch more than his bare skin. And he can see by the look in her eyes that she can FEEL him. All of him. Not just this physical form but the being inside. It’s an intimacy he first tasted with a champagne kiss he’ll never forget.

Humiliation gives way to an odd kind of gratitude. It’s one thing for Rose to have tastes of his past, another entirely for her to know him as he is and will continue to be. He’s so accustomed to denying himself in favour of his partner’s needs. Sacrificing. Suffering even, if the situation calls for it. (And much as he hates to admit it, he would never have been brave enough to show her on his own.)

In many ways, his ninth was the braver.

He presses his lips to Rose’s. Caresses her mouth with his. Senses the resonance. Tunes his own to match it. Her breathing speeds. The kiss deepens. He guides her hand down. Lower than the shaft itself. A secret he seldom owns up to. Soft fingers fumble at first. Become confident. He gasps. She resonates... She’s like... Heaven. He’s in heaven. He doesn’t even believe in heaven, but there must be one because this is it. He can FEEL her.

“Rose...”

Nine nods. “‘S what I thought.” He leans close to the Doctor’s ear. “Made for each other,” he murmurs. “Knew there was a reason we couldn’t stop watching her.”

There is wonder in Rose’s eyes. “It’s almost like...”

Nodding, Nine slips his fingers between Rose’s legs. Caresses slowly. “Nasty rumour several million years ago,” he says to Rose. “Said Time Lords were hermaphrodites. Not true, but I can understand the confusion. We became collectables to some. Even started a war or two. But though he and I are definitely male--”

“You wouldn’t...” he manages.

“--if you hit just the right spot...” Nine grins evilly.

“Don’t you d-d-dare...” Rose’s hand is as good -- or even better -- than Nine’s. Softer fingers. More dextro...ooooohhhhhhhhhh that’s good!

“You’ll make him scream like a girl.”

And right on cue, Rose finds the place. He shrieks shrilly. Really shrilly. Like pigtails and a frilly skirt shrilly. Like Mickey finding the freeze-dried rats shrilly. (Someone please kill him now.)

Rose giggles.

“Damn you,” gasps the Doctor. “Both.”

Nine grins. “Romana couldn’t look at us with a straight face for days after she found that. Try it again.”

It’s very hard to glare when one has been at the ragged edge of bliss for several minutes. He tries anyway.

Fortunately, Rose spares him the indignity. Uses more of her fundamental energy. The Bad Wolf rubs him the right way. Blends with him on a level he’s not used to. She touches him with gentle strokes. Has him utterly at her mercy. (Heaven. He’s definitely in heaven.)

She grins at Nine. “Thank you.” To the Doctor’s delight, she finds the matching spot on his ninth. “Thank you very, very much.” She shifts her hand on Nine. “And is it...?”

Nine shrieks like a girl.

“It IS!” Rose laughs. “My god, you really are the same man.”

Nine colours, embarrassed. “Why you--” Whatever he was going to say is cut off by a ragged sigh.

“Quiet, you,” Rose growls.

The Doctor laughs between gasps. “Turnabout... is a b-b-bitch.”

A strong hand encircles the length of him. His ninth. He reaches. Returns the favour. A quick look and he reaches for Rose with his free hand. Nine’s fingers slip over her. The Doctor finds just the right place inside. They match caress for caress. Find the right rhythm. And then the energy. Golden light. Traces of Time. Bad Wolf and two Time Lords. They pass the resonating glow around with a kiss. Seek and find mouths. Increase the pace of the strokes. Breathe each other’s sighs. Soon all of them are panting too hard to do anything but enjoy.

The climax is like a fine dessert after a sumptuous meal. Golden light flickers and dances through the room. Tendrils of eternity.

The three of them slump against the wall. Savour the wisps of temporal energy that curl around them. Hot water pours over them. The Doctor notes smugly that his ninth can’t stand either. Rose has her head down, panting. They sit beneath the steaming spray, half-drowning and happy.

“Brilliant,” Rose grins.

“Kinky,” says Nine.

“Fantastic.” To think, only a few hours ago, he believed his adventures with Rose, Reinette and the King (especially Rose) were the height of pleasure. (Stupid him.)

Rose leans her head against the wall. Smiles into the spray of water. “Thanks for the lesson.” She wrinkles her nose at Nine. “I always learn best when it’s... hands-on.”

He groans. Exchanges a conspiratorial look with himself. He and Nine stand. Pull Rose to her feet. Trade the soap back and forth. Take turns kissing her. Lather her until she’s nigh covered in suds. She giggles. They rinse her down leisurely. More kisses. Bare hands on clean skin. She grins. Snogs them hard.

He enjoys immersing his hands in her hair to lather it. The whole cleanup is so damn Domestic that the him of two days ago would’ve been ill just at the thought, but if he’s learned nothing over the centuries, it’s to enjoy the little things. And his ninth actually manages not to drown them in rinsing.

Rose insists on doing the conditioner herself. (He tries not to sulk.) He and Nine watch with frank appreciation as she combs out her hair. Beautiful stuff, that. Even the dark roots work for her.

“What?” she says.

“You,” they reply together.

Nine is the first one out of the cubicle. The Doctor takes the hand when he offers it. “Now about that drink...”



Link to All Previous Chapters

Crossposted to: time_and_chips