You'd be Like Heaven to Touch
Relationship(s): Tenth Doctor/River Song
Rating: General Audiences
Word count: 2431
Warnings: None
Summary: In which the Doctor keeps trying to peek in River's diary, they flirt, and absolutely no plot happens whatsoever. G or T- whatever you'd rate the show.
He hadn't meant to land on Gassspar VII, wellll, he'd meant to land there, of course, but in a different year. Welll, different millennium, really.
Still, since he was here, no harm in having a look around. Especially since the enormous, gnarled forests of trees and plants surrounding him seemed to come straight out of a Lewis Caroll novel. He loved a good, mysterious forest. He had spent a couple of hours walking about, exploring the forest and observing the peoples who inhabited it. Somewhere along the way, he'd gotten a cup of the sweet, sticky nectar native to this planet, and he happily licked his fingers, dipping them back in to gather another dollop of his saccharine treat. The Doctor was about to ask the blue hexapod in front of him directions to the famed obsidian cliffs whence the planet derived its current fame and fortune when a feminine hand slowly caressed his forearm, stealing his full attention as two fingers dipped delicately into his cup, scooping out their own serving of the syrup, and entered the mouth of one River Song.
She licked her lips of all excess nectar, causing the Doctor to gulp rather loudly before she smiled far too smugly, her sultry, "Hello, Sweetie," temporarily leaving the Doctor speechless.
"That- that was mine, Professor Song," the Doctor finally managed once he realized she'd stolen right from under his nose, quite literally.
Her eyebrow lifted in challenge.
"You're welcome to have it back, Doctor," she said, her hands on her hips and a knowing smirk on her face.
His shoulders squirmed as his eyes darted unconsciously to her lips. Then he gave his head a little shake as he put on his sternest face.
"I could have just gotten you your own," he pointed out as she triumphantly scooped out more of the sweet syrup, licking her fingers happily.
"Nonsense. I'll share," she insisted, ignoring the fact she was offering to share his treat with him.
Despite knowing she was outrageously flirting with him, she did seem to genuinely enjoy the sticky nectar, and the serenely cheery look on her face was enough for him to shake his head to himself again, offer her his arm, and hold the cup between them as together they emptied the container.
"So, what brings you here, Sweetie?" she asked as they continued casually strolling along the crowded paths.
"Obsidian cliffs of Gassspar VII. One of the 18 wonders in this galaxy."
The side of her mouth quirked in a knowing smirk.
"And before you got lost?"
"I didn't get lost, River! I came exactly where I meant to," argued the Doctor indignantly.
"Ah. So wrong time, then," she said with a chuckle.
"You know, you could have a bit more faith in me."
She leant her head against his chest, hugging his arm to herself.
"I have absolute faith in you, my love," she remarked. He glanced down at her, unused to the endearment, "now, faith in your flying, however..." she teased, ruining the mood that'd almost settled on them.
They stopped at the edge of a stall grown into the side of a giant violet, asking the stall owner about the cliffs.
A half hour later, the Doctor had grabbed River's hand as they ran from yet another arm-length thorn dart, this one narrowly missing River's curls.
"Oh, I hate you sometimes," she yelled, ducking with the Doctor as a vine darted out over their heads.
"We didn't have to come this way you know!" the Doctor yelled back, his arms shooting around her waist as he pulled her toward him, narrowly escaping the now-massive hole into which they'd nearly fallen.
They leant against a tree, finally able to catch their breath, when suddenly the Doctor realized he still had River in his arms. He looked down at her apprehensively, his body suddenly taut. She was still leaning against him, her breath coming out in pants, her hands resting easily on his chest. Suddenly, she seemed to realize where she was, and her head came up slowly, her eyes warily meeting his own wide ones. His mouth gaped open slightly, as though he wanted to say something, but couldn't figure out what. Her hands were still resting on his lapels, their bodies close, and she would have been more anxious of his boundaries this young were it not for the fact he'd still yet to remove his arms from around her waist.
"Well, this way seemed much more...exciting," she said quietly, careful not to scare him off.
He continued to look into her eyes, and she could feel his heartbeats returning to normal as he finally squeaked.
"Yes!" he cleared his throat. "Yes. Much more interesting than the boring, cleared path," he agreed, head nodding slowly. Leisurely, River let her hands slide down his chest, lightly stroking along his arms until they reached his hands still on her back. She gently pulled his hands away, extricating herself from his embrace. Then she took a step back from him, a sly smile coming to her face. He barely had time to register her look before she turned and took off at a run through the obstacle-laden forest.
"Race you," she called with a chuckle, gracefully dodging every dangerous impediment as she went.
He grinned and hurried after her, both of them laughing as the adrenaline pumped through their veins as they dodged more dangers of nature before they reached the very shiny black, sheer cliffs at the edge of the forest.
With contented sighs they looked out into the distance, taking in the seeming-untouched beauty of this world up here above the gnarled treetops. Then they each looked down onto the ravine below, a sizeable outcropping just above a clear, serene pool at the bottom. They met each other's gazes, before the Doctor pulled out a bit of rope from one of his pockets.
"You first," he offered.
River smiled, letting her hand linger just enough to fluster him as she took the proffered rope, tying it on one of the large trees before she led the way down the sheer cliff-face. When she'd gone a little way down, the Doctor began his own descent, which was momentarily and awkwardly halted when he looked below him and saw... a little more of River than he'd intended. Feeling his gaze on her, she looked up in confusion, a slow smile coming to her face when she glanced down at her top, her eyes lighting up in realization as she lightly scolded, "Eyes front, soldier."
Chastised, the Doctor cleared his throat and refocused on the rope as they made their way down.
When they finally got to the outcropping, they both sat down and stared once more at the mysterious, beautiful, and misshapen vista before them, River pulling out some local delicacies from her pack. Together they ate, enjoying the peaceful sounds of this world's nature and quietly enjoying each other's company.
"So," River finally broke the silence, "no companion this time, Doctor?"
He resolutely stared straight ahead, his nonchalant shrug and sigh doing little to convince her of his indifferent tone.
"Nah," he got out, his nose wrinkling just a little at the word. "Though, Queen Bess and I had a go of it not too long ago," he continued, swallowing loudly as a way of stalling. "Didn't work out," he said.
"Too boring being king?" River teased.
"Oh, more like far too comfortable with it," he confessed, "had to go and clarify a few facts for history, of course, but..." Then he looked over at her while she dug out her battered diary.
"What about you?" he asked. "Travelling alone? Or did you just come to see the sights?"
She smirked, rummaging through several pages as she answered him, "I was retrieving the long-lost statue of Miandmar- legally," she added at his intake of breath, "when I heard the TARDIS. Then I realised my poor Doctor must be terribly bored with no trouble around, so I decided to fix that."
He chuckled, reclining on his elbows as he looked up toward the indigo sky. "So, you admit you like trouble?" he asked, tongue teasingly peeking out between his teeth.
She leant over him, catching him off-guard with her sudden proximity. "No more than you do, Sweetie," she breathed near his mouth. His breath hitched as she pulled back and casually asked, "Have we done the Fields of Spectres yet?"
He raised an eyebrow at her, answering her silently.
"Okay," she continued, turning the page, "Cranberry picking on Stallon?"
"I keep telling you they were called oxidnoeberries," he said with the air of one continuing a long argument.
"They were bitter and red and you forced me into a bog to get them," she argued back. "That makes them cranberries," she insisted.
"It's not my fault you fell in," he muttered, picking at an imaginary thread on his jacket as she flipped more pages.
"No, just your fault that you laughed at the mess it made of my hair."
"Funny, as I recall, you pulled me in after you!" he cried.
"Mm. That was a good day," she purred, turning and reaching out to run a hand enticingly through his spiked hair.
"So," he interrupted when he realised just how close they'd gotten again as she did that, "I've seen you after that, you know." She raised an eyebrow. "Asgaard. Lovely spot for a picnic. Is that in your little diary there, yet?" he asked, reaching over to take it from her hands.
"No looking inside the book!" she chided, pulling it away from him- which only served to make him lose his balance and fall half on top of her.
He stared down at the woman under him and felt his heart rates pick up as both of them seemed to stop breathing.
"Doctor-" she began, her hand reaching up to caress his face. He pulled off her before she had the chance, but maintained the small distance between them as he sat up again.
"Who made up these ridiculous rules?" he complained, still trying to subtly peek inside her diary.
"You did, Sweetie," she said, closing it with a knowing grin and returning it to her bag, standing up and offering him her hand, eyeing the pool below them with intrigue.
"I'm the most curious person I know," the Doctor grumbled pensively as he watched River pull off first her shoes, then her socks. "The most fascinating, too. Why would I purposely make a rule against me investigating something that interests me?" She then took off her sheer blouse, leaving her wearing a dark vest and cropped trousers.
Finally she turned, slowly, toward the Doctor and leant in, her face nearly touching his, their breath mixing once more.
Well.
He supposed... Asgard had been nice. The few other times they'd met as well. She was a very beautiful woman. He couldn't deny being attracted to her, and found himself leaning in to meet her as well. Just as he was about to actually kiss River Song- she turned her head, whispering in his ear instead, her sultry voice a tease, "Because you are the most curious person you know. And the most fascinating." And with that she pulled away, a sinful smirk on her face as she sauntered off, her hips swaying enticingly.
"Minx," he muttered loud enough for her to hear.
"Flirt," she shot back. "Honestly Doctor, you hardly know me."
"I know enough," he growled, beginning to remove his own outer layers as he attempted to pretend he was wholly unaffected by the glorious enigma that was River Song.
Later, after a long afternoon of swimming (and attempting to dunk the other person), they made their way back up to the outcropping. The Doctor casually collapsed, at peace and contently lazy now as he lay on his back, allowing the warm air to dry him as he watched the colours of the sky change with the nearly-setting sun. As River dried herself off as best she could, primping her hair and re-donning her blouse and shoes, the Doctor languidly turned and dug through her bag, searching for more snacks and not, of course, attempting to "accidently" catch a glimpse of any spoilers should her journal happen to open during his rummaging.
Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he pulled out a delicate obsidian statue, small jewels encrusted around the neck and one large deep red diamond held in the creature's hands.
"River," he began, the growl in his voice causing a shiver to go through River as she innocently turned back to him.
"Yes my love?"
"You said you came here looking for the statue of Miandmar. Legally."
"I did, Sweetie, and it was legal."
"If that's all you came here for, why is he holding the sacred stone of the Gasssparoid- the most precious jewel on the planet which the Gassparoid would never part with- in his hands?"
"Is he?" she asked coyly, coming up to the Doctor with her brow furrowed, a faux look of blameless ignorance on her face.
"River Song!" the Doctor scolded her, holding out the statue in reprimand.
She sighed, shaking her head, "The stone belonged to the Cressons long before the Gasssparoid, Doctor. They deserve to have it back."
"You stole this!" he confirmed with a shout, sitting up in his fervour.
"Oh, Doctor, of course I did," she said with a roll of her eyes and her arms over her chest. "And you're one to talk," she cut him off as he was about to continue. "Besides," she continued, kneeling down next to him as she ran a finger slowly down his cheek, "I thought you liked me when I bring trouble."
And with that, she cupped his chin, turning his head and placing a very firm kiss on his cheek, using his momentary distraction to pluck the statue, and stone, from his hand. Before he had a chance to react or even turn his head to reciprocate, she pulled away, her grin devious as she moved her hand to his chest and shoved.
"Catch you later, Sweetie," she called down to him with a wink before hitting a button on something on her wrist and disappearing with a flash.
Oh, he was going to be so cross with her, he thought as he treaded the water. Really, truly cross. Just as soon as his cheek stopped pleasantly buzzing from the sensation of her lips and his wide smile died down in agreement to her statement.