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The room was dark, illuminated only by the soft glow of a projector casting a starry sky onto the ceiling. The Doctor laid on his back next to you, feeling an unusual but welcome sense of tranquility.
He turned his head slightly, watching your face get bathed in the gentle, shifting light of artificial stars.
There was a peacefulness here, a stark contrast to the to the chaos the two of you had recently escaped. Your last adventure had been a close call, too close, and you needed a break from the constant danger.
Of course, he had no problem with that; he could never deny his beloved companion anything.
Prior to this, he had never been in your home before, in your room, and he was more than excited to be in your intimate space like this.
As expected, your room had your own personal touch to it, and it was absolutely wonderful. It was perfect, it was completely you, and the Doctor loved it.
He found himself staring at you for a few moments, studying your features as a warm sense of affection suddenly bloomed in his chest.
He couldn't help it, he could never help feeling this way when he looked at you. You were so beautiful, so wonderful, and he found himself falling for you more and more each day.
As if sensing his gaze, you glanced at him with a little smile. "Hi."
The Doctor chuckled and turned his head to look at you. "Hello."
You smiled and averted your gaze but he didn't. How could he when you were so breathtaking?
You had a pillow in your arms, hugging it to your chest and looking like absolute heaven in the soft light from the stars above.
The Doctor swore in that very moment that he could stare at you forever.
"Hey, how come you were so impressed by a silly projector? You can look at the actual stars anytime you want, no problem."
He chuckled softly, shifting to get more comfortable. "Ah, but you see, this is different. I’m not used to such technology, honestly."
He paused for a moment, thinking, "And besides, the view I want to watch isn't the stars."
You side eyed him and the grin across his face stretched even further.
"Oh, don't give me that look! You know I'd rather look at you than anything else in this galaxy."
You hummed softly in response, looking off to the side. "How about other galaxies?"
He chuckled at your question, the words causing a warm, fluttery feeling to develop in his chest. "Including other galaxies." He answered with a nod. "There is nothing more beautiful than you in any galaxy, any universe, any dimension - absolutely nothing."
He heard a small, flustered giggle escape you and his expression was now filled with what could only be described as adoration.
He could feel a powerful desire growing in him, a desire to tell you how absolutely, unbelievably perfect you were. How you were the center of his universe. How he loved you, and only you.
He was a powerful Time Lord but at that moment he felt like an idiot, a lovestruck, stupid idiot; and there was no force in the whole universe that could pull him away from you, ever.
The Doctor wanted to reach out, to take you in his arms and to hold you close. He wanted to feel you, to touch you, to kiss you.
He wanted to press you into the bed and to kiss, hold and worship you.
You would never know how much self restraint it took him to keep his hands to himself.
He was still staring at you intently, taking in every little detail of your beautiful face. The way you blushed so beautifully, the way your eyes were wide and sparkling, the way your hair looked against the bed; it was like you were an art piece, a masterpiece, and the Doctor found himself completely captivated by you.
He took a slow, shaky breath as he tore his eyes from your blushing face, and redirected his gaze to the ceiling. The stars above were beautiful, he thought, but they could never hold a candle to your beauty.
You were the only thing that his mind could focus on, the only thing he could think of. You were the only thing he wanted to think of.
The Doctor wanted to tell you everything; he wanted to tell you how you were the most wonderful person in any universe, how you made his hearts race and his breath quicken. He wanted to tell you how he'd fight every villain in the universe, in a million different dimensions, just to see you smile, just to show you how important you were.
He wanted to tell you how he was hopelessly in love with you.
"You still with me?" Your voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"You're never this quiet. I thought you died or something."
The Doctor chuckled at your comment, his warm smile returning again.
"Don't be ridiculous," He scolded gently. "I'm not going anywhere. Especially not when I have such a beautiful view right in front of me."
You giggled again and both of his hearts started doing backflips.
He had loved that sound from the very first time he'd heard it, from the moment he met you. And just as he did back then, he found himself absolutely captivated by the beauty of the sound.
"Blimey, you're perfect," the Doctor found himself muttering without really thinking about it, his voice soft and quiet.
"Hmph." You muttered a 'shut up' and smacked him with the pillow you were holding.
He laughed as the pillow made contact with his arm, the feeling just as familiar and delightful as every other time you had hit him with it.
"But it's true," he protested, still chuckling, "Absolute perfection, you are."
He chuckled once more as he noticed the way you clutched the pillow against your chest and looked away.
He was completely and utterly besotted by your actions, by your cute little huff, by the shyness in your eyes.
The Doctor wanted to throw away all restraint and take you, pull you into his arms and shower you with his love, his adoration, his worship.
But he didn't. Not yet, anyway.
He didn't want to scare you off, he didn't want to go too far and make you uncomfortable, he didn't want to lose the beautiful friendship and companionship he had with you.
But good gods was it hard.
He sighed contentedly, settling back into the pillows. For now, just being here with you, basking in the soft glow of the stars, was more than enough. The universe could wait while he cherished this perfect moment.