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The Doctor stood in a corner of the party in his pinstriped suit, scanning the crowd.
To be perfectly honest he wasn’t sure why he was there. He had set out to visit a desert planet that manufactured nearly 95% of the universe’s bubblegum by the year 5060.
Why had the TARDIS had brought him here, to a lavish Christmas party at what appeared to be a palace?
The Doctor stuck out his tongue and smacked his lips. Definitely Earth.
He strained his neck and stood on his toes, trying to see to the other side of the enormous hall.
“Hello Sweetie.”
It took the Doctor a moment to realize that he was the one being spoken to. When he turned toward the voice he was greeted with the sight of River Song, wearing an emerald green ballgown and a radiant smile. She somehow looked older that the last time he’d seen her, which, he mused, was impossible.
“Ah-.” The Doctor managed, quite articulately. To be fair, the last time he had seen River Song she had been, well, quite dead.
“What’s wrong.” River said, frowning at him in concern.
“Nothing.” He said, pasting on his widest grin and gesturing toward her. “River! Fancy seeing you here.”
“Indeed.” River replied, pursing her lips in suspicion. She clearly wasn’t buying his act but seemed decide against pushing him further.
The Doctor nodded and pushed his hands into his pockets, shifting awkwardly. He could tell she was waiting for him to say something, but he wasn’t sure what that something would be. He didn’t know the first thing about her, except that obviously she was a time traveler if she was here.
Finally she appeared to take pity on him.
“What are you doing here?” River asked, smoothing her skirts. There was something about the way her eyes flitted to the floor sadly, almost as if he had disappointed her somehow. He wondered if he had failed some sort of test.
“Not sure.” The Doctor said, shrugging. “My ship brought me here, she takes a wrong turn every now and again.”
River’s lips quirked knowingly.
“Does she?” She mused. “I think she must have missed me, I’ll go say hi in a mo’.”
The Doctor turned fully toward River then.
“You know my TARDIS!?”
River chuckled, a deep, throaty laugh that made him want to laugh too, even though he was clearly not in on whatever joke she was making.
“Spoilers.” She said, the sparkle of mischief back in her eyes.
If he was being honest, he quite liked that sparkle, and the way the smallest curls escaped the confined of her hairpins and tickled the back of her neck, and the way the smooth skin of her shoulders…
“Hmm.” River coughed, breaking the Doctor from his musings. She eyed him like she knew exactly what he was thinking, and the Doctor felt his face flush a bright red.
“You’re looking very pretty tonight too, Sweetie.” River said through a smile.
“Why do you keep calling me that, ‘Pretty’?” The Doctor said, scrunching his face in confusion.
River smiled widely and tapped a finger to her lips.
“Spoilers.”
Right, spoilers. Being around River was confusing. Being in a relationship with her would be maddening. Could she really be worth it?
“What are you doing here?” He asked, hoping to change the subject.
“I’m here with one of the countesses,” She said easily. “Plus I may have heard that an automaton army dig their way out of the palace gardens half way through dessert and tried to slaughter the guests. Thought I’d stop by and lend a hand.”
The Doctor just stared at her. Who was this woman? But besides the automatons and obvious time travel, the part that was really bugging him…
“The countess, eh?” He said, nonchalantly scratching his check. “How do you know her?”
River laughed, bubbling up throat her and floating through the air like music.
“No need to be jealous Doctor, it’s just a little fun. Nothing exclusive.” She looked at him fondly but also a bit patronizingly.
The Doctor straightened, waving his hand noncommittally, trying to act like he didn’t care.
“Good, good. Sure she’s lovely.”
River’s smile just grew and she shook her head fondly.
“Speaking of.” River said. “You haven’t even noticed that you’re standing right under the mistletoe, have you?”
The Doctor looked above his head and sure enough, a small bundle of green leaves hung from the beam above his head.
“Oh.” He said, scratching the back of his neck nervously and glancing at River out of the corner of his eye. He wasn’t stupid, he knew that at some point there must have been, would be, something between them. But he wasn’t nearly there yet.
Yes, River was charming and brilliant and absolutely gorgeous, but he also knew the end of her story, and wasn’t quite ready to sign himself up for certain heartbreak.
River stepped toward him, stopping just a breath away. Her fingers cupped the side of his face and it felt… nice. Familiar. Like she had spent lifetimes running her fingers over him.
She studied his eyes for a moment, then leaned toward him. He was sure she was going to kiss him and he felt his body tense. He was nowhere near ready for that, not from her. It felt too important, too soon. But how could he pull away when she looked at him with such love in her eyes?
River turned her head and placed a soft kiss to his cheek, holding his face between her hand and mouth for just a few moments longer than was strictly professional.
When she pulled away to look at him again there was a sheen to her eyes, but she blinked and it was gone, her eyes crinkling and a fond smile tugging at her lips.
“Thank you.” The Doctor found himself saying, unsure of exactly why. Was he thanking her for her fondness, her gentleness in a world that was always just a little too rough? Or was it for the love so obviously radiating from her eyes? For somehow knowing that he wasn’t properly ready and not pushing him too fast?
“Always.” River said through a smile. She held his gaze for a moment, thumb lightly tracing his cheek bone.
Just then a loud crash and scream came from the adjoining dining hall.
“That’s my cue.” River sighed, moving away to reach into the billowing skirts of her dress and pull out a blaster. “Best pop back into the TARDIS Sweetie, things are about to get messy.”