Drops of Jupiter
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who nor the BBC nor the song nor the band.
*A/N* I only just realized that hannahncakes used this exact song for their first meeting after Berlin, too (go check her stories out, they're great). Well, I guess that song's just spot on so I can't be the only one who noticed. I had loads of fun writing this and I'm quite pleased with it (hey, it's not depressing at all! A round of applause just for that!) so I hope you'll enjoy it, too.
(This is quite obviously a very young River and an older Doctor, about mid-time for him, I'd say).
The note had turned up in one of the books she'd borrowed from the library for her studies on the ancient and unfortunately rather boring Aplans (having two heads made them interesting for some time, but even that appeal wore thin once you got to their political structure). It had just stuck between the pages and at first she had thought it was a forgotten bookmark. Until she had spotted her name on it.
Well, her other name, not her birth name. Long story.
Hello River, it said in bright blue ink, I'll be looking for books in the library tomorrow around 3:00. You could join me if you want.
If you want. What the hell was he playing at? Of course she wanted to meet him!
Or did she? River sighed. It had been almost a year since she'd last seen that man, and during this past year she had hated him just as passionately as she'd missed him.
Granted, he'd left her with more money than she could ever spend in twenty years and somehow wherever she turned up someone had been there to look after her (she'd scared them all away, though). But he'd also left her, all alone, in a hospital, light years away from earth, without transport, in a completely different century.
She couldn't deny that her journeys through the universe had been fun. She'd never had this much freedom before.
But still, it had been a really long time and even he should have realized that, in such a case, it was custom to call.
They had kissed, after all. She'd bloody saved his life, too (fine, she'd been the one to endanger it in the first place, but that was not the point, really, was it?).
With that, her decision was made. Of course she'd go. And the first thing she'd do was to slap him right across the face so hard he'd feel it for another two weeks.
After that, they could continue where they'd left off in Berlin as far as she was concerned.
He was really there. For some reason she found that very hard to believe, but he was actually really there. He hadn't noticed her yet (apparently "looking for books" had really meant "looking for books" and not "I'm basically looking for an innocent way to meet you"), he sat on one of the desks, his back propped up against a bookshelf, reading in a book titled A controversy discussion of the early renaissance in the Oodsphere. She couldn't help a grin at the sight of his slightly ruffled brown hair and eager eyes contrasting with his odd outfit. Now that coat had really given him a slightly more impressive appearance than the light brown tweed jacket. He was looking like a teacher, or rather, a twelve year-old boy dressed up as a teacher.
The bow-tie had remained, though.
"Interesting read, that?" She walked over to him, trying to keep her voice as casual as she could. Mentally scolding herself for the squirmy feeling in her stomach and her wobbly knees. For God's sake, it was not like he was the first man she'd ever shown interest in, she was no child.
"Fairly, yeah," he replied, grinning, and looked up at her.
It cost her all her strength not to blush under his gaze, with those green eyes and the warm sparkle in them. What had she done to get him so infatuated with her?
"Now then," he said slowly, sounding for a moment just as flustered as she was feeling, "how was it?"
"How was what?"
"The universe."
"Big and complicated?" she gave back, trying to make it sound like a joke. River Song was not intimidated by something as basic as the universe, after all, was she?
"Did you find what you were looking for?" he asked quietly and she threw him a startled look. What sort of question was that?
"I wasn't looking for anything, except maybe for a way to make you pay," she snapped.
"C'mon, admit it, you want to see more," he teased lightly, his eyes never leaving her face. Did that man have any idea how nervous he was making her?
"Is that an interrogation?"
He flashed her another of those smiles, far too innocent for the man he really was. "No, I'm trying to get a conversation started. It's a bit hard, though, since the last time I did you tried to kill me-"
"That wasn't my fault!"
He ignored her completely and went on: "then you saved my life and, well, you kissed me."
He paused and threw her a playful glance, as if he wanted her to say something. She waited for him to go on, but he didn't.
"Are you waiting for me to say sorry? Because I won't apologize for that," she said bluntly after a while, sounding a lot more confident than she was feeling.
"In that case, I won't apologize for leaving you in that hospital."
"You should, though," she gave back, suddenly remembering her intention to slap him. "I was all alone, in that bloody hospital, in the completely wrong century."
"I had to do it."
"No, you didn't!"
"Yes, I did."
"No-"
He grinned. "We're not playing that game. Just because you kissed me that didn't give me the right to... drag you along. I had to give you some freedom, right? You never had much of that before."
"You didn't give me freedom, you abandoned me and I was stuck!" she snapped and threw him a poisonous glare.
"You did get to see the universe, though, didn't you? And a nice place at university, too."
"Right, like that was your doing." She knew she was pouting now, but she couldn't help it.
"Exactly. If it had been my doing, you wouldn't have accepted it in the first place."
Well… she couldn't deny he was right about that.
"So, what now?" she asked anxiously after a while.
He smiled at her. "It's your life."
"And your from my future. You tell me."
"Spoilers."
"I hate that word already."
He laughed at that. "I got it from you." He paused and looked at her, and yet again she wondered what she would become that made him look at her like this now. Like she was the most precious thing he knew.
She couldn't remember anyone ever looking at her like that.
"Well, first of all, you go on with your studies. That's why you're here, after all."
"I came here to find you," she responded quietly.
"You like it, though, don't you?"
She nodded and then asked tentatively: "What about you?"
Sighing, he put the book back where he found it and answered: "Well, I'll… give you some space, I guess. I had a far too big role in your childhood, now you ought to have some time for yourself."
"What if I don't want time for myself?" she whispered and at first she thought he wouldn't answer, but then he turned around, suddenly standing very close to her, and replied equally quiet:
"Then I'm a very lucky man because staying away is gonna be hard."
A smile spread on her lips.
Slowly, as if he was waiting for her to stop him (like she would do that), he bent down to kiss her.
It was a very gentle kiss, almost innocent, very different from Berlin. His hands were cupping her face, touching her very lightly, as if she was likely to break under his fingers.
He let her go far too soon, the mischievous glint back in his eyes, and said:
"Now don't expect me to be hanging around here all the time, though. I've got planets to save."
She slapped him at that, a whole lot lighter than she'd intended to an hour ago, though. "Idiot. That's for leaving without a word. Did no one ever teach you manners?"
He rubbed his jaw, but wasn't able to keep the smile away. "You failed miserably, anyway."
"Just you wait."
A song was playing in her flat when she came back. Confused, she made her way through the mess she'd made the previous night in an attempt of last-minute studying and listened to the unfamiliar piano chords followed by a man's voice singing something - something about a woman returning from a trip through space.
Oh, that man. A smile spread over her face and she danced a little through the flat, finding she really liked the song, too. Perhaps it had been her older self who had told him about it in the first place.
She found a post-it sticking to the bookshelf next to the stereo, with a line from the song written on it. Once again marvelling over the fact that such a chaotic man could have such a neat handwriting, she took it off very carefully and continued to waltz around the room, heading vaguely towards the kitchenette with the intention of making a sandwich or something, grinning like an idiot.
Did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?
"Seems like you're trying to get back into my good books, sweetie," she muttered, but the grin was still sticking to her lips and it wouldn't leave for the next few days. Just like the note stayed between the pages of her diary, the song kept playing in her flat and the ghost of his kiss lingered on her lips.
She tried her best to behave like an adult, but in the end she found she was too happy and far too much in love to care.
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