Hair slicked back. Bow tie straight. TARDIS door open. He spotted her then, back turned to him, tapping her toes impatiently.
"Honey," the Doctor cleared his throat, leaning against the door. "I'm-"
"Late," River finished for him, turning around and arching an eyebrow. "Very, very late."
"River-"
"You know for someone who travels through time he certainly doesn't know how to keep it."
"River-"
She turned around and walked towards him, her tall heels clacking along the surface of the ground.
"Here I am freezing my bloody toes off in this place waiting for you to supposedly come sweep me off my feet. Well I'm afraid that's going to be necessary seeing as I'm not sure how much longer I can stand in these heels-"
The Doctor put both hands on her arms, holding her in place.
"Miss River Song I personally apologize for my tardiness and pray that milady will give me a second chance at winning her affections tonight," he said cordially, capturing her hand and planting a kiss on it.
River's lips curved up in a small smile as she gracefully took her hand back.
"Sweet. However I'm afraid it's too late for this particular date. You've simply missed your chance."
"What if I'm extremely early for our next date, hm? Would that make up for this one?"
"Well that depends, when were you wanting to have this date?"
"How does thirty seconds from now work for you?"
"I believe I'm free."
"Until then my dear," the Doctor said kissing her on the cheek and disappearing behind the TARDIS door.
River put her hands on her hips as she watched the TARDIS disappear from sight, wheezing and groaning as it did. She took a moment to slip out of her heels and straighten out her dress, hardly having time to turn around before the TARDIS appeared right before her. Her Doctor opened the door and threw his arms out in welcome.
"Ah! River! You're looking radiant as usual. How are you?"
"Hello, sweetie," she offered with a grin, taking his hand and stepping into the TARDIS. "Showing up so early, you hardly give a girl time to get ready."
"River you're impossible, absolutely impossible!" he complained.
"Ah you're not the first one to tell me that, sweetie," she said, handing him her shoes.
"I'll drive," she announced, walking over to controls, before he caught her wrist and pulled her to him.
"Happy anniversary!" he announced. River smirked and gave him an exasperated look.
"It's not our anniversary," she told him.
"Wha—well how do you know? It very well could be!" the Doctor complained childishly.
"Well how do you know that it is our anniversary?" River countered, placing her hands on her hips. "Most couples who celebrate their anniversary actually know the date on which they were married, since we were married in no particular place or time, given those circumstances, we do not have an anniversary."
The Doctor seemed to pout for a moment, before clapping his hands together once and taking a few steps away from her with a grand gesture of his arms.
"Aha!" he said, pointing at her. "You know some people might think of it that way, River, but I! I think of it a different way."
"What are you going on and on about this time, sweetie?"
"You say we don't get to have an anniversary because we technically don't know when we got married which I do understand—our whole relationship is full of complicated wishy washy timey wimey…uh—stuff. Therefore, River, therefore our anniversary can be any time we want! As often as we want! Whenever and wherever we want. So by that logic I decide that today is our anniversary—happy anniversary River!"
She just stood there, staring at him with an amused smile.
"I'll drive," she repeated, raising her eyebrows as she walked over to the controls.
"But River you don't even know where we're going!" he complained, following her.
"Well neither do you, sweetie."
"Well—granted. But that doesn't mean I didn't have a plan-"
"You don't have a plan."
"I do not have a plan," he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Which is why I'm driving, sweetie. Besides the last time you chose the destination for an outing, we nearly died. Next time choose a place where we can eat dinner, not be it. Hold on tight."
The Doctor shoved his hands in his pockets and watched as his wife maneuvered her way around the TARDIS controls with such ease, as if they were second nature. Which, granted, they were.
"How was I supposed to know that the Ninth Abyss of Azus was a dangerous place to go on a date? And you'd be a bloody liar if you told me that it wasn't any fun."
River smiled over at him as she gracefully landed the TARDIS.
"Of course it was fun. It's always fun. Well here we are."
She snatched his hand and walked towards the TARDIS door, dragging him along.
"And where is here?"
She opened the doors to reveal an expansive grassy field found at the top of a perfectly round plateau. Above them was the night sky speckled with large bright stars and massive planets.
"The Celestial Oasis of Zielach," River answered, gesturing to the area as she stepped barefoot onto the grass. "Peaceful, secluded, warm but not humid-" she turned her head to glance at the Doctor. "Believe me the humidity positively murders my hair. Don't go near the edges of the plateau because there's a bit of a thousand foot drop into an eternal desert, but this spot in particular is a nice spot for a picnic wouldn't you say, sweetie?"
The Doctor sauntered out of the TARDIS to stand beside her. "Well it's better than what I had planned."
"You didn't have a plan."
"Exactly. Come along."
They walked along in the tall grass which was gently swaying in the slight breeze.
"Although what's a date without a few reptile predators to run from," the Doctor spoke up with a chuckle. "It's so quiet here, do you hear how quiet it is? It's very very very…"
"Quiet," River shushed him. "Or it would be if you stopped using your mouth like that."
"And how should I use my mouth, River?" he smirked.
She turned to him and flashed him a wicked grin. "Spoilers."
She ran ahead a few steps with a laugh, although there was nothing ahead of them besides a sea of swaying grass.
"Besides what's wrong with the quiet?!" River yelled to him, turning around so she could look at him as she walked backwards. "With you it's explosion this and save the world that, you're not telling me that you really need a whole lot of commotion to feel alive do you?! Or is it that you're afraid to be alone with me?" she grinned.
He looked at her for a moment before running to catch up with her, grabbing her waist.
"You're quite enough commotion to make me feel alive and I happen to be absolutely afraid to be alone with you," he teased, touching her nose with his finger. "You're River Song, the most dangerous woman alive."
"Then why do you take the chance with me?" River smirked.
"What's life without a little danger?" he responded, moving one hand to cup the side of her face.
"You are charming tonight, I must say. How I do love when we can meet up like this. Whether it's our anniversary or not."
"Am I not always like this?" he pouted.
She shrugged and straightened his bow tie. "Some days with you are better than others," she said with a soft smirk.
The Doctor's thin eyebrows shot up at this and he gaped.
"B-better than others? River Song, I am the Doctor. I could take you anywhere in time and space, I could give you anything, I could give you everything to my name-"
"Mmm…which is?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Your name? What is it?"
The Doctor's face changed, sobered a bit. He rubbed the back of his neck.
"River…"
"No no no, I understand, Doctor. I understand perfectly. You and your privacy, you and your mysterious name…" she turned her back to him and crossed her arms.
It wasn't long before she felt his arms wrap around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder.
"River if I could tell you I-"
"I know, Sweetie. I know."
The Doctor took a deep breath, kissing her shoulder before looking up at the sky.
"What is it that you want?" he murmured. "That planet? It's yours. Or perhaps that one beside it, it does look a little more inhabitable. Or the pyramids! That'd be quite exciting…we could visit every star in the sky and you'd need only say the word, River. What is it that you want?"
River was silent for a long moment, pursing her lips as she looked up at the sky.
"I want the one thing you can't give me, Doctor," she finally murmured, closing her eyes.
"And what is that?"
River glanced over at him for a fleeting second before looking back up at the sky.
"Time."
The Doctor was quiet and still for a long moment before he released his hold and turned her around, pressing his lips to hers for a lingering moment. When he pulled away she had that same knowing, gentle smile on her lips as she looked up at him.
"Ah! Well I do believe it's time for a picnic, yes?" The Doctor said, stepping back and rubbing his hands together. "Wouldn't you say? You wouldn't have happened to pack fish fingers and custard would you? Never mind that—private joke. Moving on. This right here is the perfect spot for a picnic I'd say…"
River watched her Doctor as he rambled and fidgeted. She knew he understood, of course, but he didn't want to entertain the thought. Both of them knew they were on borrowed time, but neither chose to acknowledge it. These brief encounters they had where they were both in the same place and time and mindset were few and far between, and eventually they would be no more. But he hated endings, and he hated goodbyes, so instead of acknowledging the future he decided to look no further than this current moment. So for his sake, and hers as well, she decided to do the same.