cen_sceal | That Certain Night (2/5)

Title: That Certain Night

Author: Meabhair

Summary: AU – Ianto Jones turned down an interview with his ex’s company and decided on a better offer.

Characters: Ianto Jones, Rose Taylor, 9^th Doctor

Pairing: budding Rose/Doctor, prior Ianto/Lisa

Warnings: AU, un-beta’d, PG-13

Spoilers: Season 1 New Who, pre Season 1 Torchwood

Disclaimer: This work is not intended for profit, and all creative rights to the characters belong to their original creator(s). Torchwood is ©2006-present British Broadcasting Service Wales (BBC Wales). Doctor Who is © 1963-present British Broadcasting Service (BBC). Copyrighted material is used without permission of the BBC.

Chapter 2 of 5

Rose backed up a step and looked over to the chalk writing behind the counter. Sure enough, written on the bottom of the board was the line “Baristas know everything. Trust us, you’ll like what we hand you”. Grinning, Rose paid for the drinks before carrying them back to the seat in the corner. The Doctor was leaning back, with one of his scowls plastered firmly in place.

“What took so long? Even going for tea you wander off, and then come back with coffee!”

“You get bloody cheeky when you haven’t had your tea, don’t you? Here, budge up and push that milk across. Don’t you start grumping until after you’ve poured that, yeah? He used real tea leaves and everything.”

Rose threw a look over her shoulder at the handsome man who’d made the drinks. Best coffee she’d had in ages. Not that it said too much, seeing as the Doctor felt the same way about coffee as most reasonable people feel about Marmite, so the TARDIS never really provided the good stuff. She sipped her coffee and sighed happily. It was one of the better coffees she’d ever drunk, alright. It was nice, for a change, to get a chance to be out with the Doctor having a normal moment. As much as she’d hated waiting around before, there was something to be said for a moment of quiet now and then.

“Not that I’m complaining, like, but why are we back in London? I thought you’d said something about visiting the Crystal Waterfall of Typranaxill? Not the Crystal Palace…” Rose looked over the top of her glass and smirked at the Doctor.

“Oh, that’s some gratitude, that is. I take you to see the stars, but no, you either complain or wander off. In your case, both.” The Doctor was busy adjusting settings on Rose’s phone with his sonic screwdriver, so he completely missed the look of mischief that crossed her face.

“Ah, bad driving again, yeah? Should’ve said.”

“Oi! Now, that’s cheek, that is!”

Laughing Rose placed her glass on the table. “Seriously, Doctor, what’s up? You seem a bit distracted. My new boots haven’t recovered from the last time you were like this. Do I need to mention exploding yellow house pets?”

The Doctor looked offended.

“That was just the once. And I told you to stay in the shops, but no, you had to wander off, right out into the town centre. Where the festival was. And the Greater Spotted Grund was not a house pet. How is it my fault?”

“Now, that’s just changing the subject, that is. What’s with the long face? “

“Nothing, nothing wrong with me. Drink that milkshake in disguise, the staff here are beginning to stare.”

Rose looked over at the cute barista, she really liked his accent even if it did bring back memories of the Gelth creating a Rift in Cardiff. She shuddered slightly at the thought of poor doomed Gwyneth before pushing the thought to the back of her mind. The barista looked up, catching Rose’s eye and winked, causing Rose to wink back and the Doctor to snort.

Grinning, Rose knew that there was nothing really behind the mild flirting, but it was good to keep in practice. Not like the grumpy git beside her ever took notice of any attempts that she made to flirt a little with him. Men, all the same, ancient alien or not. Still, the Doctor was cute when he got flustered.

As Rose looked back over to the Doctor, he quickly averted his eyes back to the small phone in his hands. He’d decided to upgrade it again for some reason, right after the last adventure they’d been on. Rose may not have been educated, but she wasn’t stupid. She could see that the Doctor felt guilty about his decision to bring her back to see her father and was trying to make up for it in a way. Thinking it best to change the subject, Rose cast around for something to talk about. What came out of her mouth surprised even herself.

“Is that a blowfish walking into a London coffee shop?"

Chapter 3 of 5