Keep in mind that this is my first Doctor Who fanfiction. I did try my best. C:
Thanks to my lovely friend for this interesting idea...
I wrote it, gurll. Now I deserve a hug. xD
Enjoyyyy. 3
I rolled over in bed and sighed as I felt the cold spot next to me that would have normally occupied my husband. I sat up and glanced next to me routinely, but then remembered that the doctor didn't bother with clocks in the Tardis. Actually, he didn't bother with a lot of things in the Tardis, and I could be in here for years and still not be used to them. But I didn't have years; I only had a few days. I knew my end was coming, the Doctor didn't need to tell me, I just knew. And I also knew that even though I'd been trying to make the best of things while we still had each other, he continued moping around as if I was already dead.
I slid out from under the warm blankets and shivered slightly as the cold air hit my bare skin. I picked up the nearest piece of clothing, which happened to be the Doctor's shirt, and pulled it on, buttoning it up as I walked out into the hallway.
He could have been anywhere in the Tardis. There was endless rooms to choose from: the pool, the arcade, the kitchen, the paintball room, his room of terrifyingly ugly hats, the bar (even though he can't stand the taste of alcohol), and many, many more. So many choices, yet I knew exactly where he would be.
When I opened the door to the library, I could see him sitting on the small sofa with his back towards me. He didn't even glance up when the door clicked shut.
"Hello, sweetie." I said quietly.
His head whipped around. "River!" He grinned but his eyes betrayed the sadness behind it. "I'm glad you're up. Sorry I left bed, couldn't really sleep. I decided I needed to do something. I coudln't lay still anymore, but I didn't want to wake you." He said all this way too fast, even for him.
"Are you alright?" I asked, even though I knew what his answer would be and I knew that it would be a lie. Rule number one, the Doctor lies.
"Yes, of course I'm alright. I'm always alright." His gaze focused back on his lap.
"Please, sweetheart. There's no need to lie to me. I always know when something is wrong, and you know that when you need me, I'm here." Comforting people wasn't really my strongest point, but anyone could say that I was better at it than the Doctor himself was.
"Your hair looks lovely."
I ran my hand through the mess of curls, even more wild than usual after our crazy evening in bed. "Oh, shut up!"
"Make me."
"I will, but don't think I didn't notice you change the subject." I sat on the arm of the sofa.
He glanced up at me for a second, "Is that my shirt?"
"Well, yes… Obviously. Do you really think I own anything like this?" I wrinkled my nose in mock disgust.
"Oi! Don't hate on my shirt. My shirts are cool. Why are you wearing it?"
"You left it on the floor. And besides, what yours is mine." I grinned and he chuckled slightly. A small success.
"I believe you were the on that put it on the floor."
"That's really quite irrelevant. But if you'd like to borrow my black dress, or a pair of heels, feel free to do so." I nudged him playfully, but he lost his smile and was soon frowning. "Now stop moving away from the topic at hand and answer my question."
The Doctor sighed but didn't say anything. That's when I noticed the still mixed up Rubik's cube in his lap. I picked it up and quickly solved it, returning it to him after about two minutes.
He raised his eyebrows. "I didn't know you could do that."
"Yeah, well. You might find this hard to believe, but that works quite a bit better than sitting there and staring at it."
The Time Lord picked it up and started messing it up again. "I can't seem to remember how to solve it."
"Your mind is too distracted with other things." I brushed a hand through his hair and smiled when he leaned into the touch. "Plus, it's early in the morning… I think. Actually, I really don't know. How can you even tell in this thing?"
"She doesn't like being called a 'thing,' River."
"I get along with the Tardis than you do. She knows I don't mean it offensively."
He tried to smile but failed. "But I should remember a couple of sequences for something as simple as a Rubik's cube." He groaned and lifted it up as if to throw it.
"Don't take it out on the cube." I said, grabbing it from him and sliding it onto his lap.
He shook his head. "I'm just frustrated. And… I miss your parents." He looked more miserable than I'd ever seen him in my life and I already felt guilty that he was about to lose me too. It really hadn't been that long since we'd lost my mum and dad; I didn't want him on his own. Whether I was going to voluntarily die or not, I still felt like those big, solemn eyes were unnaturally watery all because of me. This might be our last time together, I didn't really know.
"I miss them too." I said softly.
He allowed himself a couple more short moments of pain before shaking it off and putting up a happy front. "So, are you going to show me how to do that?" He asked, nodding towards the Rubik's cube.
"If you think you can handle it." I winked, deciding the best approach to making the Doctor happy was to allow him to pretend to be happy until he forgot he was unhappy.
"I can handle anything you decide to throw at me." The cheeky side of the Doctor had always been my favorite.
"We'll test that theory out later." I whispered into his ear.
A slight blush crept over his cheeks, but he didn't say anything. He had gotten much better at these sorts of things if I really thought about it. He'd gone from complaints to awkward looks to arm flailing to this.
I turned the rows on the cube a couple more times and started explaining the first sequencing for the top row. It wasn't long before he'd finished the top two layers by himself. He grinned, "That wasn't so bad."
"That was the easy part."
He ignored my comment, "How did you learn to do this?"
"I had an awful lot of spare time in prison." I replied, but didn't give him any time to reply by showing him the last two algorithms for the final row. The last thing I wanted him to do was question me about all that time in prison, they weren't really my best days.
He watched my hands for a moment and tried to process what I'd just done. "Can you do that last bit again? I wasn't quite paying close enough attention."
Thirty minutes later he was cussing and saying things I never thought I'd witness. "First the Time War and now this? It's impossible!"
"Not impossible, sweetie, just difficult." I replied, not fazed by his sudden outbreak. I'd seen this man at his best and his worst. And being unable to finish a Rubik's cube was nowhere near any of his lowest points: The Time War, Demons Run, Amy's final farewell…
He knocked the cube to the floor. "We're both wasting our time." He muttered, wrapping his hands around my waist.
I raised my eyebrows. "Is there something we could be doing that isn't a waste of time?"
"I'm sure we can think of something."
"What did you have in mind?"
He shrugged. "We can go anywhere in time and space. Where do you want to be?"
I considered that for a minute and grinned. "Your bedroom." I answered before kissing him softly.
"All of time and space is within your reach and you would rather sleep?"
I rolled my eyes but didn't reply, waiting for him to catch on to what I was implying. He really wasn't one to immediately register my subtle invitations.
His eyes widened. "Oh… Oh! After you, Dr. Song."
I just grinned and grabbed his hand. If these were our last moments together, I was going to make the most of it.
I hoped you guys enjoyed a bit of cute, fluffy, and feely River/Eleven amazingness.
It was enjoyable to writee. C:
Thanks for reading! Leave your reviews and let me know what you thought.
Love you guysss. C:
With much love,
River Song xxx