the best is yet to come
the best is yet to come
eleven/river, doctor who.
897 words, pg-13.
summary: the doctor gives river a present.
Beta’ed by promethia_tenk, thanks a lot!
Originally written for spoiler_song prompt batch #2, inspired by these 2 pictures below but I’m like 2 months late. Anyways, there you go!
----
“River Song, I could bloody kiss you.”
“Maybe when you’re older.”
He enters her room, holding a beige box in his hands. She thought she could have enjoyed a bit of privacy and tranquility, but obviously the Doctor has no sense of personal space - not that it bothers her anyway.
“Open it.”
He hands her the box, and she lifts the lid off it slowly. It’s stuffed with white tissue paper which she sets aside. Under the paper is placed a magnificent pair of shoes. Shiny heels. Looking like two disco balls. She opens her mouth in surprise as she lifts the shoes in the air, the little mirrors shining beautifully in the light of the room. The Doctor can’t help but laugh triumphantly.
“Haha! Guess this wasn’t written in your diary, then?”
“No, it was not.”
She’s still surprised, and God knows how hard it is to actually surprise someone like River Song when she’s got a diary describing all of her days with accurate details and even pictures. She carefully puts the shoes back in the box, and places the box on the cupboard, before she leans in to kiss him.
“What’s that for?” he says after the kiss, always a bit thick when it comes to kissing and stuff.
But she can’t blame him for that, he’s an alien after all, and he’s got this adorable confused look on his young face that she can’t resist.
“I told you you could kiss me when you’re older, sweetie. I’m just doing as I said.”
“Oh. Well, then...”
This time he’s the one kissing her softly, and his hands are on her cheeks, his fingertips brushing the skin beneath them.
“By the way, thanks for the shoes. They’re stunning.”
“I knew you’d love them.”
She escapes from his embrace, shoes in one hand, and before he can say anything else she’s already out of the room, probably heading to the wardrobe to find a matching dress.
- - - - -
When he finds her later, she’s in the living-room, sitting in an armchair, wearing a black dress she must have picked in the wardrobe and the shoes he offered her a few hours ago. She’s smoking a cigarette. A pink cigarette. He takes the half empty pack on the table next to her in his hand and eyes it suspiciously.
“What’s this? Since when do you smoke?”
“Oh, I didn’t smoke last time we met? Sorry about that, you know I always get a bit confused with all this time travelling. Well anyway, I smoke, yeah. Don’t tell me that it isn’t good, I already know that.”
“I’m still going to tell it. Don’t smoke, it’s bad.”
“You’re so old-fashioned.”
“Let’s say that when you have my age, it’s sometimes hard to avoid being old-fashioned. And please, don’t smoke. No smoking in the TARDIS.”
“Is that some kind of rule?”
“Yep.”
“Oh God, you can be really annoying sometimes, Doctor.”
He chuckles at her remark as she puts out her cigarette. His eyes follow her move, and he notices her diary next to the ashtray and the cigarette pack. The blue covered book is here on the table, and he looks at it defiantly.
“How long will you be staying?”
“I don’t know. Longer than I usually do, I think.”
He nods silently. She smiles fondly when she sees he’s eyeing her diary. She knows perfectly well he’s dying to read it, to understand, to get all the pieces of the puzzle in place.
“You will get it. You will understand everything, one day. You will have all the pieces in your hands, and everything will just fall into place. But I can’t tell you anything for now, and you know it. Spoilers...”
“Those bloody spoilers! It’s like the sixth or seventh time I’m meeting you, but it seems like you’ve known me for a much longer time.”
“It is. I know you hate not being all-mighty, but you just have to be patient. I can tell you, the best is yet to come.”
His gaze trails off from her diary to meet hers, and he raises one eyebrow.
“How can you know that? You never know how early or how late it is for me, if we’ve already lived this or that.”
“I am perfectly and totally sure this didn’t happen.”
The tone she uses is so assured that it scares him a little. She grins, and he can’t stand the fact that he doesn’t have a clue what she’s talking about.
“Come on, tell me.”
She closes her eyes briefly, hesitating, and when she reopens them, she nods in the direction of his left hand.
“Look at your ring finger.”
He gasps when he understands what she’s actually implying. They’re going to be married, someday? Of course he already thought about this before, but getting the confirmation of it is a bit of shock for him. He sighs. If it really occurred or will occur, there’s surely a tangible reason - he’ll know it in time. For the moment, he just smiles lightly, as her grin widens.
“River Song, you are impossible.”
She takes her diary and her cigarette pack in one hand and stands up. Her heels click on the floor, and she murmurs quietly into his ear, before heading out of the room, leaving him more confused than he’s ever been.
“I know, sweetie.”