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“What can I get you, love?”
Before Rose could open her mouth to order, someone beat her to it.
“We’ll have two cones with double banana scoops, please. Ooooh, and with banana flavoured topping and banana pieces!”
Rose smiled at the ice cream vendor and subtly elbowed the Doctor in the ribs. “Yeah, sorry but can you make mine a watermelon please? An’ no toppin’, ta.”
The older woman grinned at the exchange. “Coming right up, love.”
The Doctor turned to Rose as the vendor filled their order. “What’s wrong with banana, then?” He asked, affronted.
“Nothin’s wrong with it, I just don’t want it.”
“And why not?” he squawked. “How can you possibly justify not wanting the best ice cream flavour in the entirety of the Milky Way Galaxy?”
She rolled her eyes. “Because that’s your favourite, Doctor, not mine, and because it’s hot an’ I want watermelon!”
The Doctor sniffed, slipping his hands into his coat pockets. “And what could be more cooling than a nice, creamy banana ice? Mutter’s Spiral never produced anything finer!”
Rose frowned. “Mutter’s what?”
“Never mind that,” the Doctor said, waving his hand dismissively. “Point is, banana ice cream is the finest of treats. It’s brilliant! Fantastic! Molto bene!”
“One watermelon ice,” the vendor broke in, handing over a fresh cone packed with ice-cream.
“Ooooh, ta!” Rose gazed at it appreciatively.
“Look at it!” The Doctor pointed his finger accusingly at the tasty treat. “Sitting there all pink and sinister. Well, pinkish-red. But still! Nothing good can come of eating pinkish-red ice cream, Rose Tyler, you mark my words.”
Rolling her eyes again (a common occurrence when buying treats with the Doctor), she took a lick and tried to ignore him.
Easier said than done, of course as he refused to be ignored.
“Rose! Rose? Rose! Are you listening to me?”
She sighed. “Doctor, you’re gettin’ a banana ice cream, aren’t you?”
“Yes, of course.”
“So what does it matter what I get then?” she demanded between licks.
He huffed. “It’s the principle of the thing! You’re turning down the tastiest of morsels and choosing the common fare instead! Now your mouth will taste like watermelon when it could have tasted like banana!”
“One banana ice!” The vendor broke in, trying not to grin at the Doctor’s petulant demeanour, which brightened immediately at the sight of the yellow ice cream. “An’ that’ll be fifteen quid, thanks.”
Rose fished out twenty quid from her pocket and held it out to the woman. “Keep the change, ta. Have a good evenin’.”
As they shuffled out of the shop, Rose turned to the Doctor. “What does it matter what my mouth tastes like? It’s my mouth, innit? An’ yours’ll taste like banana, so that’s alright then.”
“It does matter!” The Doctor insisted, licking enthusiastically at his own ice cream. “I’ll have you know that the flavour of your mouth is highly significant, Rose Tyler!”
Rose snorted. ‘An’ why’s that then? Plannin on kissin’ me?”
“Well, well…in an emergency, I might!” The Doctor sputtered, his face a dull red.
“What kind of emergency needs you to kiss me?“ she demanded, trying not to get her hopes up. Or collude with the TARDIS to create such an emergency. Bad Rose, she scolded herself. Bad Rose.
“Weeeeelllll,” he mused, unconsciously slipping his fingers through hers. “We could end up on Grafalica! Yes Grafalica!” He nodded emphatically.
“An’ why would you need to kiss me if we go there?” she asked suspiciously.
“Well, it’s illegal to be single there and citizens are matched from the age of sixteen.”
“An’ how does you kissin’ me come into that?” Rose tried not to show how intrigued she was by the idea.
“Well, kissing’s a sign of affection, innit? Public kissing is encouraged there, lots of kissing, and if we want to blend in, I’d have to kiss you. A lot. To avoid arrest, of course.” He cleared his throat and tugged at his colour, his cheeks red for a very different reason now. “If we were going there, that is, which we aren’t.”
“Right.” Rose focused on her ice cream, willing the blush in her cheeks to subside. “Well, like you said, we’re not goin’ there, so the flavour of my mouth isn’t important.”
The Doctor looked determinedly ahead at the looming TARDIS. “Yeah, s’pose. Could be another kind of emergency though and I might still have to kiss you.”
Rose licked intently at her ice cream, trying not to give any indication how much she’d welcome such an emergency. “Well if that happens, you’ll just have to deal with the watermelon, Doctor. ‘M not buyin’ banana ice cream just in case we end up on some kissing-obsessed planet.”
The Doctor fumbled with his key and opened the door, ushering her in. “Well, I s’pose at least it’s not pear.”
Rose rolled her eyes. “I really doubt you’re going to need to find out either way, Doctor.”
“Weeeeelll, you’re probably right.” The Doctor shrugged. “Right, well, off to Sotia. If we’re lucky, we’ll find the TARDIS parts I need. ” He set the co-ordinates and rocked back on his heels, grinning cheerfully. “To the salvage yards we go!”
Unbeknownst to either of her passengers, the TARDIS overrode the Doctor’s co-ordinates and plotted a course to Grafalica.
Fin