River Song knew she was destined for the Doctor. The problem was, she hardly ever saw him, and so in the long gaps between visits, she kept herself amused one way or another. It wasn't being unfaithful, she told herself between fits of guilt, besides, she decided, he probably had his share of affairs too. River found it easier and easier to break out of prison by the day, and so she regularly found herself at balls and parties, where there was always someone looking for a fling.
She was dressed in a tight fitting slinky blue dress, adorned with little jewels and sequins, her ecstatic hair tied up with ribbons on her head. Her heels were towering near four inches high, and every man and woman in the room turned and stared when she walked in. She looked around like a Queen surveying her court. Finding it satisfactory, she nodded slightly, and winked to no one in particular. It was a gorgeous high ceilinged room, with a chandelier that hung low, adorned with diamonds and pale crystals that reflected light off every surface. The windows were long and curved at the top, like in a church, but made of frosted glass, each swirl beautifully pronounced. River was never sure what time period she had landed in, but at least her dress fit in with the other women's, save for the fact that it was a hundred times more extraordinary. There were tables of food along the walls, and pristinely decorated tables to eat at, but River ignored the gnawing feeling of hunger in her stomach, and headed to the dance floor. Within moments she was flocked with men asking to dance,
"Goodness you're all after me like birds after bread." She said, her twinkling eyes and dirty smile admitting how pleased she was. "But I don't want to dance with any of you vultures." She laughed and began lightly dancing a waltz, all alone, her arms hanging by her sides. From the shadows a man came forward, one that hadn't been in the throng of others pushing for a dance,
"Can I have a dance? Please." He smiled charmingly and extended his hand. The song changed and River rolled her eyes,
"Just the one, sweetie" she said, surveying the stranger. He wasn't tall for a man; nearly her height, but he certainly was handsome. His face held day old stubble in a way that wasn't messy, but sexy. His eyes were pale green and his dark hair was combed neatly. His suit was tailored and looked expensive, his green tie matched his eyes exactly, and his shoes were polished within an inch of their lives. He was clearly a wealthy man, and as they waltzed around the room River heard hushed whispers from the other couples. As they passed the tables where a handful of people sat watching, River felt a pair of eyes burning into her. She turned her head slightly and made eye contact with an astonishingly beautiful woman. An astonishingly beautiful woman who was staring daggers at her. She quickly assessed the situation, the pale green dress the woman was wearing (the same color as the tie of the man River danced with), the anger and snarl on her face, and the arms that were so definitively crossed left River with only one explanation. She was dancing with a married man. The dance brought her and the man around the room one more time before ending, and finished with the two of them right by the table where the woman in the green dress sat.
"What do you two think you're doing?" she asked in a lilting Irish accent.
"Listen Gwen, I can explain," the man started,
"I didn't know he was involved with someone else," River said apologetically.
"You I don't care about," the woman snapped at River, who nodded immediately, and backed into the shadows. River smirked a little, watching the man she had been dancing with go red in the face and try to stammer an apology. She figured she was probably supposed to feel a little guilty, but she really didn't, in fact, she thought it quite amusing. Soon however, she got bored of watching them bicker, and turned her attention to the food. The prison food was obviously nothing decadent, and certainly nothing as lovely as this. There were tables heaping with all the delicacies of the planet –whatever planet it was– and soon River had a plate full of food smelling so good one could faint.
She had always been a people-watcher, wherever she went she liked to watch people, listen in on conversations, or even read bits of body language that usually went unseen. Such behavior had saved her on many an occasion, and was a habit that never left her bored. She was looking at a man dancing with a bored looking woman, both of whom had spent the whole dance staring at another man's butt, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up and it was Gwen, the woman from before,
"Mind if I sit down?" she asked softly,
"Not at all." River smiled. The woman didn't say anything for a moment, giving River time to look her over. She was remarkably beautiful, with high cheekbones and sharp brown eyes, nearly the color of her dark hair that flowed perfectly down her back. Her cheeks were very pink, and her strapless green dress showed just enough cleavage to be saucy, but still decent.
"Sorry for snapping earlier. He just frustrates me a lot, that wasn't the first time he's done that, wandered off with someone else. I found him in a storage closet with another teacher from the school last week. He swears they were just getting pencils, but her blouse was half open and his cheeks were flushed." The woman's voice caught a little in her throat. "I'm bothering you," she said apologetically,
"Not at all," River repeated, "please, it's interesting."
"I reckon we might get divorced. It was a quick marriage, we'd only known each other a couple months, and it was all too rushed." As Gwen was speaking, River noticed one of her cheeks was much more red than the other,
"Gwen, did he slap you?" she asked, her voice filled with worry.
"Oh! It's not a big deal, it happens all the, no, I, oh dear." And then she began to cry. Quietly at first, but then a bit louder, until her sobs shook her shoulders and people began to notice,
"Let's get you to the bathroom and washed up." River said, putting a hand on Gwen's back. She escorted the crying woman out of the room and down a small hallway to the bathroom. It was a large bathroom, with one stall and a small loveseat for waiting. Gwen collapsed onto the loveseat, and River sat down next to her, patting the other woman's back. Her skin was soft and warm; unlike her cold hand that River felt clutched in hers.
"I, I don't know what's come over me, I g-guess it was just one time too many."
"Dear one time is too many." River warned, Gwen nodded, agreeing, and wiped her eye with her hand. River stood up and grabbed a towel. Kneeling down before Gwen, she dabbed her eyes and brushed the crying woman's hair back behind her ear. River's hand lingered in her hair, and Gwen put her hand over River's, holding it there. Their eyes met and River smiled, the type of smile normally reserved for the Doctor. She ran a finger over Gwen's lips, brushing the last of the tears away. And then she kissed her.
It was a long, lingering kiss, and when Gwen pulled away River's face wore a smirk of sultry satisfaction, which vanished at the scared look on the other woman's face.
"I'm so sorry," she stammered, biting her lip in a way River knew she shouldn't find attractive, but did. "I can't do this to John." Gwen's eyes filled with tears. River stood up and quickly ran out of the bathroom. The ballroom was exactly as they had left it, except Gwen's husband John was clutching a young woman close to him as they swayed to the music. A moment later River came back in,
"He's already found a new person to dance with." She stated truthfully. "I think it's okay."
"Thanks." Gwen said seriously, "I've never had the courage to stand up to him."
"I'm glad I could help." River replied, running her hand through Gwen's soft brown hair. It had escaped the clasp that earlier had held it, and was hanging in delicate chunks around her face.
"I'm a bit of a mess right now," the smaller woman said self consciously, looking in the mirror. River gently pulled Gwen's hair back into the clip, which hung limply, but made her feel better all the same.
"I think you look beautiful." River ran a time-weathered hand down Gwen's face and pulled her in close.
This time their kiss was less calm. More passionate and fiery. This time River was in control. She held Gwen firmly and ran her fingers up and down the woman's smooth back. She felt Gwen shudder slightly and knew John had never done anything like this for her. Gently River began biting Gwen's bottom lip, causing her to emit a small moan, which only made River more intense. Gwen felt the strap of her dress falling down, she knew it had been too big but she wore it anyway. River leaned in closer so that her low cut dress brushed against Gwen's and they nearly touched. She felt her hands up from Gwen's back and around to the front where the fallen strap allowed her hands to tease up and down the other woman's ribcage and chest. She felt her hair coming out of its elaborate up-do but she didn't care. The only thing that mattered was here and now. No complicated time lines. No childish time lords. Just Gwen and River and a taffeta pink bathroom.
Then someone knocked on the door.