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Growing Down
by Lilithangel
It was a planet neither of them had visited before. The Doctor had promised Jack a peaceful time for once. Jack had joked about a resort and the Doctor had closed up again. It had taken a lot of silence on Jack's part to get him to explain what had happened on Midnight, the last time he'd taken anyone to a resort.
Jack had simply sat with him as he detailed the loss of his voice, the control the creature had exerted over him and his loss of faith in humanity when they turned on him and a woman whose name he never knew sacrificed herself so they could survive.
Then Jack had suggested the planet they were standing on. He'd heard about it but never been. Everyone said it was the place to let your hair down, be yourself and have a good time. Not the sort of good time the Doctor assumed he was suggesting.
"This side there are beaches with old fashioned boardwalks and fun parks," Jack read from the brochure, "cotton candy..." he tempted and the Doctor grinned.
"Proper cotton candy spun onto a cone?" the Doctor said hopefully.
"Let's go find out," Jack said, grabbing the Doctor's hand and running down the small hill towards the sound of an amusement park.
"Proper cotton candy," the Doctor said with a satisfied sigh. He was covered with sticky flecks of pink sugar from his first cone of candy and held a second in one sticky hand.
Jack laughed, sinking his teeth into a red shiny toffee apple he had chosen. The Doctor stared at Jack with a speculative gleam in his eye. He stepped up close to Jack and captured the hand holding the toffee apple. Jack stared into the Doctor's eyes, almost forgetting to swallow as the Doctor moved in closer. Suddenly he grinned and took a big bite out of the toffee apple.
"Hey!" Jack protested, "You've got your own."
The Doctor laughed and dashed off with Jack in hot pursuit. It took some time but Jack finally pinned him against a booth.
"Too slow," the Doctor said triumphantly.
"I'll show you slow," Jack said. He licked the side of the Doctor's face.
"Eww..." the Doctor made a face and Jack smirked.
"You're covered in sugar," Jack said.
"Hah," said the Doctor and he smacked Jack on the cheek with his cotton candy.
"How's that fair?" Jack said with a pout, "I was just trying to help."
The Doctor licked the sugar off Jack's face and they weren't laughing anymore. They stared at each other intently until the Doctor started to look nervous.
"Rollercoaster," Jack said, breaking the tension.
"What?" the Doctor was startled by Jack's change of direction.
"Let's ride the rollercoaster," Jack said pointing behind the Doctor.
"I love rollercoasters," the Doctor said enthusiastically.
They jumped in line happily munching on their treats, the earlier awkwardness gone.
"I'm going to throw up on it," Jack said happily.
"Why?"
"I always throw up on rollercoasters, it's a tradition," Jack explained.
"Then you're not sitting next to me," the Doctor said. He weakened under Jack's pout. "Are you sure you'll throw up?" he asked plaintively.
"I don't have to," Jack admitted, "but I have eaten a lot of sugar. So have you come to that."
"I don't get sick," the Doctor declared confidently. "I call front," he said as the attendant opened the gate.
"Cool!" Jack shouldered past him and jumped into the front car. The Doctor glared at him, sprawled out with his arm stretched across the back of the seat and then jumped in beside him.
The Doctor spent a few minutes examining the locking mechanism of the shoulder harness and then he and Jack wrestled over his screwdriver when he wanted to improve it. The movement of the train stopped their argument and they both looked forward eagerly.
They rode the coaster twice and Jack didn't throw up despite looking a little bit green on the second go. The Doctor screamed like a girl (or so Jack said) and they both laughed.
Afterwards the Doctor dragged them onto the dodgems and Jack picked the water ride just to see what would happen to the Doctor's hair when it got wet. The Doctor shook himself like a dog and headed straight for a hotdog stand where they bickered happily about the merits of onion and mustard. Jack stuffed his hotdog down and looked around the park to decide what they should ride next.
His gaze was drawn to the Doctor's face which was covered in mustard and pink sugar, and then he lost the trail of his thoughts when the Doctor started licking like coated fingers.
"We need to find a bathroom," Jack said, closing his eyes to what his brain was suggesting. "You're a mess."
"I guess I am," the Doctor said exploring his face and fingers. "Sticky," he added, "sticky, sticky, sticky." He hopped from foot to foot as he chanted.
"How old are you?" Jack demanded.
"Older than you," the Doctor replied.
"Doubt it," Jack replied.
"Am too."
"Then you won't be able to catch me, old man," Jack crowed, dashing off through the crowd.
The Doctor ran in pursuit and they crashed into the public restroom as they both attempted to get inside first.
"Call it a tie," the Doctor panted.
Jack turned on a tap and flicked water at him. "I let you catch up."
"Did not." The Doctor flicked water back. They subdued at a disapproving cough from the attendant who Jack winked at as they were leaving. "Why do you do that?" the Doctor demanded.
"Do what?"
"Flirt with everything."
"It doesn't do any harm," Jack defended, "I like it and it makes people feel good."
"Really," the Doctor sounded surprised, "that's why? Not to pull?"
"Not always to pull," Jack said with a huff, "just most of the time." He grinned. "One last ride before it gets dark." He pulled the Doctor along to the Ferris wheel.
"Aren't they boring?" the Doctor frowned.
"Thought our stomachs might like boring for a little while," Jack replied. While the Doctor was staring up at the wheel dubiously Jack slipped the ride operator some extra credits. "You're not scared are you?" he teased.
"Of course I'm not scared, what's to be scared of?" the Doctor demanded. He jumped into the gondola and the grabbed hold of the restraining bar as it rocked under his feet.
Jack smirked and sat down, patting the seat beside him. The Doctor sat down gingerly and they were secured in place. The Doctor looked a little nervous when the gondola swung as they moved upwards, but he was soon captivated by the view that spread out below them. So captivated that he didn't notice Jack's arm stretch out on the back of the seat until a casual hand rested on his shoulder.
"I think we can see the TARDIS from here," Jack said, distracting him from the warm weight.
"There," the Doctor said pointing excitedly.
They had just reached the top of the circle when the wheel shuddered to a halt. The Doctor had been leaning forward to see the TARDIS and Jack's hand pulled him back into the safety of the gondola.
"What happened?" the Doctor peered over the side, "Shouldn't take much to fix," he added, searching for his screwdriver.
"Nothing to fix," Jack said, "this is just part of the ride. They always stop it when you reach the top. So people can admire the scenery."
Somehow Jack's hand had slipped around the Doctor's waist and it felt quite nice. "So people just look at the scenery do they?" he asked.
"If they're not too busy necking," Jack said. He had moved closer and his breath tickled the Doctor's face.
"Necking?" the Doctor turned to face Jack.
"Come on, Doc," Jack cajoled, "its Ferris wheel tradition."
"I like traditions," the Doctor said, and then Jack's lips were on his. It was different from the last kiss, new lips for a start. It was softer as well, not a desperate farewell attempting to push a thousand things never said into one moment. It was a promise of things to come, slightly awkward but still completely Jack.
Jack still itched at his senses but it was a something different, and it made his skin zing. Beyond that it was still Jack, would always be still Jack and the Doctor liked that.
Jack wasn't sure where all his hundreds of years of experience had vanished to when he kissed the Doctor, but he didn't care because it was fantastic. The Doctor's lips were a little bit cool and his chin was scratchy, but it was as wonderful as only first kisses could be. Jack treasured every first kiss he'd ever had and this one was going right to the top of the list.
The kiss went on until the Ferris wheel jerked back into life and brought them back to earth. Jack helped the Doctor out of the gondola and didn't let go of his hand afterwards. The Doctor didn't seem to mind as they wandered around the amusement park eating more cotton candy and having a go at the side shows.
They finally made it back to the TARDIS both clutching large green stuffed toys on indeterminate alien species. Jack had won the Doctor his at the shooting range and the Doctor had won one for Jack at the ‘guess the weight' game.
When they got inside they both stopped and looked at each other. "What just happened?" Jack said in confusion.
"We went and relaxed at the amusement park you recommended," the Doctor said with a slight frown.
"We rode the dodgems and ate cotton candy," Jack said.
"And you kissed me."
"You kissed back," Jack said defensively.
"Of course I did," the Doctor said and then he paused. "I like kissing; kissing is fun why wouldn't I kiss back?"
"Why were we kissing?" Jack said, "Don't get me wrong, it was great kissing, but you've never kissed me before."
"You've never kissed me before either," the Doctor said, "not this me anyway." He bounded over to the TARDIS and pushed lots of buttons that Jack didn't recognise. "Huh," he said, tugging on one ear.
"Huh, what?" Jack demanded.
"The atmosphere has higher than normal levels of Oxygen and Curonium which stimulated production of adrenalin and dopamine."
"We were stoned?"
"Not stoned, just more receptive to the atmosphere of the park. Makes sense really, this is the ultimate feel good planet."
"So you didn't really want to kiss me?" Jack shrugged, "fair enough, let's just chalk it up to experience and aliens made us do it then."
"Do you want to chalk it up to that?"
"Do you?"
"No... yes... of course not, it's just... well you know."
"Yeah I do know," Jack said and then grinned, "it was a great kiss though."
"It was okay."
"Can we go back again one day?"
"I did notice a sign that mentioned the universe's largest rollercoaster to be opened in 2059."
"Brilliant. It ‘s a date then?"
"You just had to call it a date didn't you," the Doctor sighed, "will you buy me cotton candy?"
END