Summary: Doctor/Rose Christmas fluff based on the conversation in While You Were Sleeping about the difference between hugging and leaning. I've used the movie dialogue here in chapter 1. Chapter 1 is Nine/Rose, and then chapter 2 will be Ten/Rose.

"Chrono sensor is nearly fried," the Doctor muttered as he tucked the sonic screwdriver back into his pocket.

He heard footsteps in the corridor and cocked an ear to listen to the conversation. "So, any requests for your first trip, Jack?" Rose asked.

The Doctor pulled himself out from under the console. "'Fraid any request stops will have to wait," he said, wiping his hands off on a grease stained rag. "Chasing your signal through the Vortex put a bit of a strain on the TARDIS. Thing is, I don't have the part I need, so we need to visit Cetera before we go anywhere else."

The former conman smiled his easy grin. "It doesn't really matter to me where we go."

"Is she all right?" Rose asked, running a finger down the railing.

The Doctor tried to hold back his dopey grin, but judging by the knowing look on the ex Time Agent's face, he didn't fully succeed. "The TARDIS is fine Rose, or will be once I fix her up."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

At her command, the Doctor set the coordinates. He looked over his shoulder at their newest traveller and grinned. "Watch this," he said and flipped the lever.

Jack's eyes widened as the Time Rotor began its slow chug up and down as the ship took them out of the Vortex to their destination. "And if I went outside…" he said, gesturing over his shoulder to the doors.

"Cetera," the Doctor said, his arms crossed over his chest.

Rose nodded when he looked at her, and then laughed when he spun around and raced to the doors, throwing them open. A blast of cold wind carried a swirl of snow inside the console room, and he quickly closed the door.

"Well, it's a new planet, but I recommend warmer coats."

"You both know where the wardrobe room is," the Doctor said. "Don't mind me; I'll just be sitting here waiting while you find something to protect your feeble human physiology."

He double checked the coordinates while they were gone, making sure they'd landed at a time when the junk shop he needed was in business, and during a period when the planet accepted credits.

"We're ready when you are, Doc," Jack said as he and Rose reentered the console room.

"After you, Captain," the Doctor said, and Jack opened the doors again.

This time when the doors opened, the Doctor caught a whiff of pine and the crisp scent of cold air. Rose peeked out over Jack's shoulder and then looked back at the Doctor, a frown on her face. "There's holly and evergreen boughs hanging from all the street lights. I thought you said we were on Cetera," she said.

"We are!"

"Then why does it look like Christmas?" Rose levelled a glare at the Doctor. "Don't tell me, lots of planets have a Christmas?"

He pushed gently on her back, encouraging her to go outside. "If they were colonised by Europeans they do," he insisted. "You humans, you take your culture with you wherever you go. You can find a place to celebrate most major holidays you're familiar with, if you know where to look."

A flyer on one of the lamp posts caught their eye, and Jack read it out loud. "Holiday market, every day in Yule, with entertainment on the green after dark."

"Yule?" Rose asked. "Is that what they call Christmas then?"

"Nah, Cetera adopted the old English names for months… only with modernised spellings. Yule is December, more or less."

Rose sniffed the air. "Is that chestnuts? Oh, I haven't had roasted chestnuts in ages!"

The Doctor rummaged around in his pocket and handed her a credit stick. "Makes no sense for you to come to the junk shop with me. Take Jack to the market, and stay out of trouble. I'll meet you there when I'm done."

"Come on Rosie," Jack said, walking backward down the pavement. "Let's see what we can find."

Rose waved at the Doctor and then jogged after Jack, locking his elbow with hers.

The junk shop was exactly as the Doctor remembered, a shabby store front sitting in front of a large, fenced in salvage yard. "Hello?" he called out when he entered the shop and found it empty.

A short squat man came bustling out from the office. "You just caught me, sir. I was about to close for the holiday. But how can I help you?"

"I'm looking for a chrono sensor."

The man pulled a huge log out from under the desk. "Let's see… Chrono sensor. Hmmm, here's a chronoadaptable awl, and chrono pliers, and a chrono hammer… chrono sensor…" Finally, the man's face book into a wide smile. "Ah yes, I thought I had one. Section Alpha Five," he said.

The Doctor paused at the door. "What about the chronoadaptable awl?" he asked. He didn't need it now, but it never hurt to have a few spares on hand.

Twenty minutes later, the Doctor was whistling as he dropped the parts off in the TARDIS and made his way toward the centre of town. The sun was still an hour from setting, which meant he had time to enjoy the market with Rose before the evening panto and concert started.

His good mood disappeared when he rounded the corner and spotted his two human companions standing only a few inches apart. Rose held something in her hands, and from the way she beamed up at Jack, it had clearly been a gift.

The Doctor's scowl deepened when Rose leaned in to give Jack a hug.

The crunch of his footsteps in the snow alerted them to his presence. Rose pulled away from Jack, her tongue peeking through her smile in a way that would normally have melted the Doctor like butter. But he knew now that she didn't actually mean anything special when she looked at him like that, and the disappointment left a sour taste in his mouth.

"Right you two," he said brusquely. "I just came to tell you I've got the part. I'm going to spend the afternoon repairing the TARDIS while you waste your time celebrating so we can leave as soon as you get back." He turned on his heel and started back down the street, not caring if it looked like he was stomping away in a huff.

He was halfway down the street when he heard Rose calling his name. Instead of turning, he lengthened his strides, eager to get away from her before he did something stupid that showed how hurt he was by her choice.

But he should have known she wouldn't be put off so easily. The TARDIS was in sight when he felt her hand on his elbow, tugging so he'd face her.

Rose stared up at the Doctor, the storm clouds in his eyes completely baffling her. "What's the matter with you?"

He shrugged her hand off his arm. "You didn't seem to need me around, thought I'd get out of the way."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, leaning against the wall and rubbing at her forehead in confusion.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "I just figured, because of the whole Jack thing… Well, three's a crowd, yeah? Not that I think the captain would mind," he muttered.

Rose's mouth opened a little. That sounded an awful lot like jealousy, but why would he even think that. "Because of the… what Jack thing?"

He sighed and looked away. "The leaning thing."

Every explanation he gave only confused Rose further. "What, because he gave me a gift?" she asked, realising he must have seen the exchange.

The Doctor nodded and rocked forward on the balls of his feet. "And then you leaned."

"And then I leaned," she repeated.

"Yeah."

Rose gave half a nod, expecting the Doctor would elaborate on his agreement, explain what leaning actually meant. But when he took a step back and she realised he intended to retreat to the TARDIS without another word, she pressed for more information. "Okay, how did I lean when I leaned?"

Irritation flashed in his blue eyes. "It was a lot different from hugging," he spat out, his Northern accent strong. "Hugging is very different. Hugging involves hands and arms…"

He caught her eye and his demeanour shifted, his voice dropping into a low rumble Rose could feel all the way to her toes. "Leaning is whole bodies moving in like this…"

He put a hand on the wall behind Rose and started leaning closer. Rose stared into his eyes, all her earlier anger melted into something else.

"Leaning involves wanting…" The Doctor shifted closer and his gaze flicked down to her lips. "…And accepting…"

Rose's tongue darted out to moisten her dry lips, and his startled gaze met hers. She saw the question there and nodded slightly.

"Leaning," he whispered as he came even closer.

Rose closed her eyes in anticipation of his kiss, but instead, she heard Jack say, "Hey, Rosie, is this guy bothering you?"

There was a hint of red on the tips of the Doctor's ears when he pulled back. Rose looked over at their friend who was barely containing his amusement. "No."

"Are you sure? Because it looks like he's… leaning," Jack said, motioning slightly with his hand.

The Doctor barked out a laugh. "Thank you!" he said.

Rose watched the moment slip away, but she wasn't going to lose the entire evening too. She slipped her fingers through the Doctor's, taking small victory in the way his hand tightened around hers. "Let's go back to the market," she said.

He looked uncertain, and she took a step backward, tugging on his arm. "C'mon," she wheedled, looking up at him through her eyelashes. "There's a panto starting in half an hour. We've just got time to find seats."

She was delighted when he let her pull him down the street, Jack following along behind them. A stage had been set up on the green, and a stall was renting blankets to spread out on the ground. Rose pulled out her credit stick and got a nice thick one big enough for the three of them, then made her way through the crowd until she found a patch of ground large enough.

Once the blanket was spread out, she settled herself firmly between the two men. As thrilling as the Doctor's jealousy had been, since it hinted at feelings she hadn't thought he possessed, she wasn't about to let him control who she spent her time with. She'd made that mistake once with Jimmy—never again. The Doctor's tense shoulders told her he'd noticed the seating arrangements, but when he glanced down at their still linked hands, she felt him relax.

The panto was a completely new story to Rose, but the audience participation hadn't changed in all the centuries since her time. Soon she was shouting, "Look behind you!" and "Oh no it isn't!" along with the natives.

When it was over, Jack laughed delightedly and pulled Rose to her feet. "I've never actually seen one of those."

"Really?" Rose asked. "But you're human." Based on the Doctor's earlier comments, about humans and Christmas, she'd assumed Jack would be familiar with all the same traditions she was.

Jack shrugged. "We have Christmas, but not pantomimes." He shivered. "We do have mulled wine though, and after sitting on the ground for an hour, I think we all need to warm up." Rose started when he slipped his hand into the pocket with her credit stick with a cheeky wink. "Be right back."

A few minutes later, he returned with three large cups. Rose plucked her credit stick from between his fingers and then took one of the cups. The first sip of spiced wine brought warmth back to Rose's hands, and she sighed in contentment. "Feels like Christmas," she mumbled, taking another sip.

"Hang on a tic," the Doctor said, taking the wine from her and setting it down on a picnic table. "I'm going to get us something to eat—can't have you drinking all that Rigellian wine on an empty stomach."

Rose laughed as he walked away, muttering something about dragging drunk humans back to the TARDIS. "S'pose we should sit down and wait for him to bring the food," she said to Jack, swinging a leg over the bench.

Jack took another drink of his wine. "One glass of wine won't get me drunk and the Doc knows it," he told Rose, then sat down across from her. "He's concerned about you, like usual I'd guess."

"That's just the way the Doctor is." Rose ran her finger around the rim of her cup. "He feels responsible for the people he travels with."

Jack's snort surprised her, and she looked up at him. "You don't expect me to believe it's a sense of responsibility that sent the Doctor storming away earlier," he said. "I admit I was surprised when I caught up with you—he doesn't seem like the type to go in for public displays of affection, but—"

"Jack," rose said loudly, anxious to stop this train of thought. "Whatever you… the Doctor 'n me… we're not…" She huffed out a breath in embarrassed exasperation, hoping she'd said enough for him to fill in the blanks.

His eyes widened. "You've never even kissed?" Rose felt herself blush bright red, and she took a large swig of her wine to hide her face. Jack groaned. "Oh Rosie, I am so sorry. I never would have interrupted if I'd known that."

An impish look crossed his face. Rose had only known him for two days, but she was already wary of that expression. "What're you planning, Harkness?"

"Oh, nothing… But if you'd like, I could always arrange for you to be locked in a room together. A little forced confinement, maybe a conveniently placed bed…"

Rose's first instinct was to argue that they didn't even know if the Doctor was interested, but then she remembered the longing in his eyes earlier when he'd had her pressed against the wall.

"Nah," she said finally. "I think we can take care of things on our own." She'd always wanted the Doctor, but she'd never thought he'd reciprocate. But maybe that was changing… finally.