356. might be a little early for this, but...

[want_to_jog]

KISS or TELL
1. There's mistletoe everywhere. Everywhere. Your character is underneath it now.

2. Once underneath it with someone else (a replier) they are stuck in
place until they do one of two things: kiss or tell someone a secret
about themselves.

3. It doesn't matter who tells their secret, initiates the kiss, etc.
Whenever it happens they're 'free

Comments

[but_worth_it]

He stared at the device in his hand. "Right, now---we're going to have to keep navigating this corridor...I wonder why there aren't any traps, though."

[huffpuffblonde]

She let out a short laugh. "See, now, that I didn't know. Six hundred years as a Jellyfish doctor? How have you never mentioned that before?"

She paused at the next light, giving him a skeptical look. "You're not really nine hundred, are you?"

[but_worth_it]

He thought about lying, and it was right on the tip of his tongue to do so, but the light above them needed to go out for them to move forward. And Rose was clever. He doubted Jo or even Sarah might've caught on that six hundred years as a jellyfish Doctor meant nine hundred years was really, really unlikely.

"I lie about a lot of things," he admitted. He meant the confession to come out as a teasing, joking thing. Instead, it came out quiet, serious, and almost with a warning attached to it. Be careful, Rose. The Doctor lies.

[huffpuffblonde]

The light didn't go off. That wasn't a secret. "I know."

And she did. And she was fairly good at knowing when he was lying, too. She was also fairly good at knowing when not to push it. Now wasn't quite so serious, though, so she just offered him a tiny, reassuring smile. "If it's any consolation, those crows feet? I wouldn't put you a day over eight-sixty-five. Go on, then. I haven't got any ideas. It's either your turn, or you're gonna have to ask some questions, because I'm drawing a blank."

[but_worth_it]

He gave her a little smile at that. No, it wasn't a secret, he supposed. Not to someone who knew him. And Rose did know him, which was as frightening as it was comforting. And he didn't want her to go, he didn't want to right what was going on here.

"Am I nice?" he found himself asking before he could stop himself. "In my next life. Do I get it right, then?"

[huffpuffblonde]

She thought seriously about not telling him. The time lines... but it couldn't hurt, really.

"You're nice now." She said, honestly, but offered him a small nod after a moment. "You get it right, then, too, yeah."

She gave him a crooked grin. "Really great hair."

[but_worth_it]

"Better than it is now?" His voice was just a shade of pathetic as he ran his hand over his very close-cropped hair. "Yeah, I mean, it's a bit on the thin side in places, but---"

The light went out as Rose spoke her secret, though, and he took a step forward to get them through.

"I'm not very nice now, you know," he said. "I almost got you killed in that pool room, remember?"

[huffpuffblonde]

"Well, I didn't say you were smart," She stepped forward, giving him a grin that was a touch teasing, but mostly fond. It quickly slipped away, though, and her voice was serious. "That wasn't your fault. Yeah, you were snooping up on me, but it's not as though you threw me in the pool. I said I was from the future, it was only fair of you to expect me to know the disposal hatch was broken."

She shook her head. "Hey, now. Buck up, yeah? First thing I did when you changed was ask you to change back. I like your face. It's a good face. You should keep it for a bit."

She bumped him on the shoulder. "Now, if you're done being vain, we've got a corridor to cross."

[but_worth_it]

The Doctor gave her a smile. "Two more left."

When she admitted to saying that she asked him to change back, the light above them went out. He turned to look back at her.

"Sorry, make that one more."

In his pocket, his device was buzzing madly, letting him know they were very close to the crystal they needed. Just one more piece of mistletoe to go.

[huffpuffblonde]

She smiled back, and turned her attention upward to the last remaining bit of mistletoe. That was it. She was out of secrets. She stuffed her hands in her pockets.

"That one'll be yours, then," She said, staring at it a moment longer before turning her gaze back to him.

[but_worth_it]

He was out of secrets, too. By that, he was out of ones he could tell her. Everything else became too personal, or too dangerous. Or, in the case of some, too embarrassing.

"What was it that message said?" he asked, looking back the way they came. There was more than one way to open up the lock. He looked back at Rose. Oh, she was young. Really young. Too young to try to move forward with or---

He found himself stepping towards her. He wet his lips awkwardly, then leaned down. His hearts were pounding even harder than they did when he was telling his secrets.

His mouth brushed hers when---

Crash! There was an explosion behind the last of the locks.

[huffpuffblonde]

She glanced back with him. Started to part her lips to answer him. It said they could...

They darted back to him as he stepped closer, and her throat caught before the words came out. For a frantic second, she was pretty sure her heart stopped beating, because he was there, and leaning down, and moving in to kiss her, and his lips were-

Crash! Something was exploding. Something was shaking. Something was falling.

She grabbed his hand.

"Run!"