[ The Doctor nods, leaning in just a little to her touch. It's subtle but it's enough to make clear just how important this moment is to him, how much he hadn't been ready to say goodbye to all of this.
And his regret aside (something he is still determined to see undone, not just for him, but for her, for some River out there who might still have some chance to pop in and out of her parents' lives), he'd become ... somewhat comfortable with the idea of time going the right way around, because it seemed to have given all of them just a little more time with each other.
He understands that now more than he has thus far. Funny how coming so close to the end of your own regeneration seems to be the perfect time for thoughts like that. ]
[ There's a quiet softness in this moment, and she knows she hadn't been ready to say goodbye to all of this just yet either. She lets her touch linger against his skin, even as she draws her hand back. If her eyes are glistening, that's probably his imagination. Because she certainly isn't going to cry.
Instead, she smooths his shirt again (entirely unnecessarily) and carefully looks him over. ]
Good. Because I haven't finished with you either.
[ Unspoken words hover between them, but even now, she can't bring herself to say them. The only thing in the Universe the confuses the Doctor is love. One day she'll tell them, both of them. Before it's too late, before they all leave here. Eventually. (Probably not.)
For now, she kisses him quickly and lightly, briefly pressing her forehead to his. ]
[ The kiss is soft and quick, but it feels familiar too. ]
River.
[ He murmurs her name, letting his eyes close as she presses her forehead to his. He slides his arms around her then, to hold her close in a comfortable embrace. It isn't something they do very often, but at this moment it feels right. At this moment he needs to feel the solidness of her when she hasn't really been alive for ... well, years.
The thought is even more poignant, having just come back from living all of the new memories he now carries with him. River has been gone for so long, and the last time they'd met in Trenzalore, she'd been ... an artifact of herself. It had broken his hearts having to confront that.
The Doctor, after all, hates endings. (Really, really hates them.)
But she is gone, and this River is still moving in a time not aligned with his; such is the way of their relationship. Such is the way it's always been.
When he pulls back, it's to lightly (and fondly) boop her nose, to dispel the seriousness and the tragedy of his thoughts catching up with him. ]
[ She lets herself relax in his embrace, sink into it, and for River, that's what it feels like to be coming home.
A rock, an orphanage, Earth, the university, Stormcage. There are plenty of places she's lived, but her home has always been a person. No matter where he goes or what face he's wearing.
It's all too soon when he pulls back again, but she smiles at the familiar gesture. ]
Yes, my love, I think it is.
[ She chuckles, palm pressing flat against his chest. ] We could do worse.
[ It isnāt exactly how he envisioned the last of his regeneration with this face, but this shouldnāt have happened at all anyway. Heād almost been ready, he thinks, to turn into the old man with the cross eyebrows and the grey hair. But this feels like a gift, or that humany thing they call a miracle, and he doesnāt know if heās thankful for it or whether he ought to be suspicious of the means that Viveca and the Commander seem to have to bring him back. But he hadnāt completed his contract, he hadnāt undone his regret, and so perhaps it stands to reason that whatever it is that binds him to it could bring him back from the edge of his death. Strange sort of science (or magic), that.
For now, he wonāt think too much further on it. For now heāll simply be grateful for this second wind, and to spend this evening with River before a new mission file undoubtedly falls into their laps.
He folds a hand over the one at his chest, resting it there for a moment before he takes it, fingers slowly lacing with hers. ]
Do you remember when we used to go to parties? Saved a Queen who was a goldfish once, didnāt we? And there was the Calderon Beta, that one time, the planet with the boring chip shops but then there was the tree.
[ He smiles. ]
Now, itās nowhere near the same, I know, but how do you feel about a picnic in the sunlight room, eh? You and me, I'll whip something up.
[ River has been rather suspicious of the means they have for bringing them all here ever since she found herself pulled from The Library with two beating hearts and a physical presence. But she doesn't want to question it having brought him back, doesn't want to feel the desperate ache in her chest at his absence.
And it's so nice to have his hand tangled up with hers, she nearly misses the fact he's started talking again. ]
The stars were beautiful.
[ Truth is, she'd hardly looked at the stars at all that night. She'd been too busy watching him, the way the starlight played across his features and his face lit up with delight.
She leans in, burying her face against his neck. ]
[ The Doctorās smile veers mischievous and just this side of cheeky, already concocting a few fun little ideas in his head based on the ingredients he knows are hidden in the pantry. Itāll be quick, of course, wouldnāt want to waste any time, and itād likely be a whole lot of sweet too ā but for River, he would make sure to have an assortment. A little savoury, a little delightfully alien, just the way they like it.
But he wraps his arms around her properly for now, gathering her close. ]
[ She smiles, leaning into him as she laughs. He's ridiculous, but he's hers. Partly anyway. And she can accept that. She always has. ]
I wouldn't miss it.
[ Whatever he tries to feed her.
She lingers in his arms a moment longer, breathing in the quiet, and when she finally pulls away it's with another gentle kiss and the warm promise of, 'I'll see you later.' But it isn't goodbye, and she thinks maybe they're both a little more grateful for that than they were before. ]
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no subject
And his regret aside (something he is still determined to see undone, not just for him, but for her, for some River out there who might still have some chance to pop in and out of her parents' lives), he'd become ... somewhat comfortable with the idea of time going the right way around, because it seemed to have given all of them just a little more time with each other.
He understands that now more than he has thus far. Funny how coming so close to the end of your own regeneration seems to be the perfect time for thoughts like that. ]
I wasn't finished here, not yet.
no subject
Instead, she smooths his shirt again (entirely unnecessarily) and carefully looks him over. ]
Good. Because I haven't finished with you either.
[ Unspoken words hover between them, but even now, she can't bring herself to say them. The only thing in the Universe the confuses the Doctor is love. One day she'll tell them, both of them. Before it's too late, before they all leave here. Eventually. (Probably not.)
For now, she kisses him quickly and lightly, briefly pressing her forehead to his. ]
Welcome home, Sweetie.
no subject
River.
[ He murmurs her name, letting his eyes close as she presses her forehead to his. He slides his arms around her then, to hold her close in a comfortable embrace. It isn't something they do very often, but at this moment it feels right. At this moment he needs to feel the solidness of her when she hasn't really been alive for ... well, years.
The thought is even more poignant, having just come back from living all of the new memories he now carries with him. River has been gone for so long, and the last time they'd met in Trenzalore, she'd been ... an artifact of herself. It had broken his hearts having to confront that.
The Doctor, after all, hates endings. (Really, really hates them.)
But she is gone, and this River is still moving in a time not aligned with his; such is the way of their relationship. Such is the way it's always been.
When he pulls back, it's to lightly (and fondly) boop her nose, to dispel the seriousness and the tragedy of his thoughts catching up with him. ]
Suppose this really is our home now, isn't it?
no subject
A rock, an orphanage, Earth, the university, Stormcage. There are plenty of places she's lived, but her home has always been a person. No matter where he goes or what face he's wearing.
It's all too soon when he pulls back again, but she smiles at the familiar gesture. ]
Yes, my love, I think it is.
[ She chuckles, palm pressing flat against his chest. ] We could do worse.
no subject
[ It isnāt exactly how he envisioned the last of his regeneration with this face, but this shouldnāt have happened at all anyway. Heād almost been ready, he thinks, to turn into the old man with the cross eyebrows and the grey hair. But this feels like a gift, or that humany thing they call a miracle, and he doesnāt know if heās thankful for it or whether he ought to be suspicious of the means that Viveca and the Commander seem to have to bring him back. But he hadnāt completed his contract, he hadnāt undone his regret, and so perhaps it stands to reason that whatever it is that binds him to it could bring him back from the edge of his death. Strange sort of science (or magic), that.
For now, he wonāt think too much further on it. For now heāll simply be grateful for this second wind, and to spend this evening with River before a new mission file undoubtedly falls into their laps.
He folds a hand over the one at his chest, resting it there for a moment before he takes it, fingers slowly lacing with hers. ]
Do you remember when we used to go to parties? Saved a Queen who was a goldfish once, didnāt we? And there was the Calderon Beta, that one time, the planet with the boring chip shops but then there was the tree.
[ He smiles. ]
Now, itās nowhere near the same, I know, but how do you feel about a picnic in the sunlight room, eh? You and me, I'll whip something up.
no subject
And it's so nice to have his hand tangled up with hers, she nearly misses the fact he's started talking again. ]
The stars were beautiful.
[ Truth is, she'd hardly looked at the stars at all that night. She'd been too busy watching him, the way the starlight played across his features and his face lit up with delight.
She leans in, burying her face against his neck. ]
Try not to get too creative.
no subject
[ The Doctorās smile veers mischievous and just this side of cheeky, already concocting a few fun little ideas in his head based on the ingredients he knows are hidden in the pantry. Itāll be quick, of course, wouldnāt want to waste any time, and itād likely be a whole lot of sweet too ā but for River, he would make sure to have an assortment. A little savoury, a little delightfully alien, just the way they like it.
But he wraps his arms around her properly for now, gathering her close. ]
Meet me in the sunlight room?
no subject
I wouldn't miss it.
[ Whatever he tries to feed her.
She lingers in his arms a moment longer, breathing in the quiet, and when she finally pulls away it's with another gentle kiss and the warm promise of, 'I'll see you later.' But it isn't goodbye, and she thinks maybe they're both a little more grateful for that than they were before. ]