A/N: I wrote this to see if I could. It's un-beta'd so any errors are mine. Please forgive any canonical inconsistencies. This is my first foray into the Doctor Who fandom.
Also, this story is set in the future, where Eleven is now Twelve.
A Temporary Calm
-xx-
After a night full of adventure and triumph, as we lie entwined beneath the heart of the TARDIS, he tells me her story.
He tells me, first, of how they met. A happy accident of fate, in the wake of triumph and tragedy. He tells me of how he left, and then came back. How he showed her beauty, and pain, brilliance and terror, all of time and space.
And then let her go.
-xx-
It's very rare, for us, even after all these years, to find ourselves at peace. Our lives intersect and intertwine seemingly at random, and though his face has changed more than once since we met, and will change again before we part, he is still the same man I fell in love with all those years ago.
It is difficult, though, to share our lives. His past is often my future, and his future my past. What are spoilers, and what are stories? We find ourselves, on nights like these, eager and scared to share secret and precious parts of our lives, rules be damned.
And so he tells me of her. The one who came back. She had a fiery temper and hair to match. Intelligence, wit, and attitude to spare. He whispers these details into my ear like secrets, his arm curled around my shoulder as my head rests on his chest.
I ask him if I will ever get to meet her, and he smiles mysteriously, "Spoilers," he replies, the singsong of his baritone voice echoing throughout the chamber.
I laugh against his chest, "Come on. Tell me."
"These are your rules, River."
"I know, I just… it sounds like I would like her."
"You did – would," he corrects himself quickly, but not quickly enough for it to have been an accident.
It's a system we've worked out – they're not spoilers if they slip out accidentally, are they?
His eyes glimmer in the dim light of the artificial twilight the TARDIS has created for us. I pull the sheet down as I roll more fully onto him, looking up into his stormy blue eyes.
Sometimes I miss the green.
"I would, eh?" I raise my eyebrow mischievously.
His fingers brush down the length of my arm, and I shiver with delight.
"She reminds me a lot of you, actually. Headstrong. Confrontational."
"Oi," I slap his shoulder lightly.
"Hey, those are things that I like," he insists.
"Yeah, you'd better," I warn playfully, pulling myself up just enough to plant a firm kiss to his lips.
I lay my head on his chest once more, and we rest, savoring the temporary calm.
"Did you love her?" I ask cautiously. I will not be jealous, I tell myself, no matter what the answer. We are here and now, in this time, in this space. Whatever came before, whatever comes after, it doesn't matter. We are us. We are here.
"Not.. not like I love you," he responds, his voice quiet. "I loved her, yes. She was my friend."
I sigh with relief. Though if you asked me, I would deny it.
"How did you lose her?"
"Sp –"
"I know, I know," I interrupt, "but… "
"She isn't lost, not really. She moved on. Got married. Started a family. For centuries, people will remember her name. She saved the universe, the fabric of reality itself… and," he hesitates, his voice cracking slightly.
I look back up at him, worried, "And what?"
His eyes are sad, "And she doesn't remember."
"What?"
"Donna Noble held me back. She pushed me forward. She saved my life. She saved the lives of billions. And she doesn't even know it."
He doesn't tell me any more than that. He closes his eyes, his brow etched in sadness. My ear to his chest, I let the steady beat of his twin hearts lull me back to sleep.
My last thought before I'm pulled into unconsciousness… I can't wait to meet her.
-xx-
The End
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