Author's Note: Sorry this one is short and long awaited but I was having a bit of trouble thinking it through. Enjoy!

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Dancing! I can dance. Seriously. Okay, well not really. Not this kind of dancing.

But this is what she wanted. Royalty, elegance, good food and a bit of dancing. So here we are, enjoying our time as "guests" of the Duma of Rushic IV.

God, she is beautiful in that dress. Open back, letting the eye wander all the way down along her spine, interrupted only by the loose ties holding it together. It slopes far enough down to show everything right up to that spot on her lower back where I love to rest my hand. It's black, curving around her lush hips and falling over her thighs.

I need something to drink. No idea what this red stuff is but it's close enough to red wine to be tasty.

She's smirking over at me and I smile back. 'Having fun?' I mouth to her and she nods.

'You?'

Not really, enough. More fun watching her enjoy herself.

The front of her dress is even better. The dress is sleeveless with only one strap angling across her chest, leaving her shoulders bare. She's tilting her head just to the side, waiting for me to respond and all that does is make me loose focus more. Her hair is pulled up but a few golden curls have purposely fallen against the soft nape of her neck. It's tempting as hell to wrap my arms around her waist and nibble there-

'Yeah,' I nod back at her. She doesn't have a drink with her and I hold mine up, pointing at it and then at her, shrugging my shoulder as a way to ask the question. She just shakes her head in response and I tilt my head in a way to say 'whatever'.

'Come dance with me.'

'I can't.' She rolls her eyes in response and I sigh. 'What about him?' I ask, nodding my chin in the direction of some rich snob she's been dancing with for most of the night.

She glances over at him and he smiles. I try not to notice it, try not to notice the way it makes my stomach twist, try not to let my cheek muscles tighten in response. Because it's not my place to be like that. Because Humans and Time Lords have completely different views on what a "relationship" is. Because Humans get jealous, not Time Lords. Because reasons twelve through fourteen say that this shouldn't be bothering me.

She makes an awkward gesture- half between a roll of the eyes and a shrug. 'He's tired.'

'Wore him out.'

'Oh yeah,' she rolls her eyes at that.

The snob's moving now, coming over to speak with her again. I would prefer not to watch them talking or dancing any more but all I can focus on instead is the floor just by her feet. Which leads me to her feet- the soft, delicately white skin of her feet encased in the strappy, black heels she had found to match her dress. She even took the time to paint her toenails red for the occasion. Her feet inevitably lead to her smooth, flawless legs- toned calves and half hidden thighs. Her dress is angled at the bottom, leaving half of one thigh to taunt me while hiding the other as the material falls to just below her knee.

She catches my eye again- god, I hope she didn't notice my eyes wandering- and holds up a finger, her head titling towards the dance floor to let me know that she just wants one final dance. I nod and smile as the snob takes her hand.

Maybe I should have asked her for a dance. It can't be that hard to figure out all of the steps. Rose is picking it up well enough. But I can't. There's a reason why I can't, I'm sure, I just don't honestly know what it might be.

There really isn't anything else to do but chat up some of the old men sitting in the corner or pop in and out of random conversations, draining the rest of my glass as I wait. It isn't until the third song ends and I still can't seem to find her in the crowd when I begin to worry. She wouldn't have just left without telling me and certainly she wouldn't have just wondered off to stroll in the gardens with that pretty boy snob.

Or maybe she would have. See! Reason fourteen, invented for a reason! That sounds stupid. Jealous! Humans get jealous. They pound the shit out of each other. They enact revenge and do stupid things for stupid reasons. Not Time Lords. Not me. And yet, here I am, angrily searching the crowds for her because I was too much of a coward to ask her to dance.

She's fine. She's probably just getting some fresh air, having a nice chat with that pretty boy about the local culture-

Oh shit! Local culture!

How do I always manage to forget the obvious!

He's royalty, Rose is an unwed woman. She agreed to dance with him. Shit!

Shit, shit, shit, shit!