Lost in the Universe

xxxviii

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a bit weird?" Nina heard Craig ask the Doctor as she entered the living room. The two men were sitting on the sofa, having a nice conversation about french cuisine. 

"They never really stop," the Doctor said with a smile. "Ever been to Paris, Craig?" The Doctor asked as Nina walked into the room, wondering why there were only two small sofas in the room. Didn't Craig say he used to live with another guy? Doesn't he ever have more than one friend around? If so, where do they  sit, on the floor?

As soon as the Doctor noticed her, his face slightly lit up and he extended a hand to her. She took it and he pulled her on his lap. With a red face, Nina let herself fall on his knees, awkwardly looking down as he rested his hand on her tigh. The Doctor, however, didn't seem to find anything awkward, as he gently carressed her leg and continued to talk to Craig, expecting an answer to his question. Craig couldn't help but snort at the redness of the girl's face, but soon enough cleared his throat when the Doctor frowned at him in confusion.

"Uh, no. I can't see the point of Paris," Craig revealed, making himself more comfortable by almost being engulfed by the sofa. "I'm not much of a traveller."

"I can tell from your sofa," The Doctor nodded. 

"Sofa?"

"You're starting to look like it," the Doctor said. Nina's eyes widened in surprise, and she turned to give him a look that clearely said 'be nice'. She was glad when she realised that Craig hadn't taken it seriously, seeing as he was genuinely laughing.

"Thanks, mate. That's lovely," he said between laughs. The Doctor smiled and beamed up at Nina as if he wanted her to be proud of how he managed to make the human laugh. Nina tried to hide her smile, but when the corners of her mouth slightly curled up, the Doctor knew he'd won. "No, I like it here. I'd miss it, I'd miss--"

"Those keys," Nina finished his sentence for him.

"What?" 

"You're sort of fondling them," the Doctor agreed. 

"I'm holding them," Craig defended. 

"Right."

"Anyway, these are your keys," he said, walking to the key holder by the front entrance and grabbing a small key ring, extending it to Nina, who had also stood up. 

"We can stay?" She asked him, sort of surprised.

"Yeah. You're good. He's weird, but he can cook, and that's good enough for me," Craig told them. "Right, outdoor, frontdoor, your door," he explained, showing them the different keys on the ring. 

"Our door," the Doctor repeated, smiling down at Nina. The latter couldn't fight the blush that reached her cheeks and shook her head in disbelief. She grabbed his hand and started to pull him towards the corridor where their room stood. 

"Oh, listen," Craig called out to them before she could actually step foot inside. "Mark and I, we had an arrangement, where if you ever need me out of your hair, just give me a shout." 

"Why would we --"

"Thanks, Craig," Nina quickly cut him off, eyes wide and tomato-face still present. "Will do." She pushed the Doctor inside the room and just before stepping in herself, she turned back to the human. "Also, Craig. About the rot," she gestured towards what she meant. "Don't touch it, alright?" And she closed the door. 

"Do you have any idea of what exactly we're supposed to do here?" the Doctor asked her as they both let themselves fall on the bed, after taking their shoes off, of course. Nina shook her head, reaching inside the Doctor's coat pocket for an earpiece she knew was usually there. 

Before she could actually feel around to try and find it, the Doctor grabbed her wrist and turned towards her, pulling her in a slow, soft kiss. She couldn't help but blush once again, not understanding why all of a sudden she couldn't stop doing so. Maybe it was the exhaustion. Yeah, she really liked blaming everything on that. Obviously, Nina kissed back, reaching for his neck with her other hand. She was left out of breath as soon as they pulled away. 

"What was that for?" she whispered, not trusting her own voice. He shrugged. 

"Really just felt right," he admitted. "What, can't I kiss my kind-of girlfriend?" He teased, laughing when Nina's eyes widened. She didn't know he'd heard that. 

"Shut up," she told him, gently smacking his arm. He just laughed again. 

"Oh, I'd forgotten how adorable you were, all young and red," he teased again.

"Young and red?" Nina squinted her eyes at him, for some reason, leaning in really close to his face.

"Beautiful," he whispered, before pulling her towards him and catching her lips in his again.