Yowzah Oneshot Collection (2)

51(G)

             the lady is a vamp

     mygalfriday (BrinneyFriday)

As much as River loves any and every version of her husband, she’s grown to dread the adventures when he and Amy barely know her. He’s surly and obstinate and at times, downright resentful. When he’s this young, it’s hard to imagine he ever falls in love with her.

But she pastes on a smile, just as she always does, and refuses to let any weakness in her armor show through. At least not until he walks away, Amy trotting along at his side. It’s still so odd not having her father around. Rory would have seen what she tried to hide and he might not have said a word, but even one understanding glance from her dad would do her a world of good right now. They’re all just so young.

River lets her shoulders droop and her head drop the moment they’re out of sight. Her husband loves her – more than the universe, Rivah he loves to proclaim when he’s under the influence of her lipstick. She knows he does. Even so, she can’t help but wonder how. How does this mistrusting babyface turn into her soppy, nostalgic idiot?

She wonders if she’s doing it right – if she’s giving him too much space or not enough, if she should flirt more or less. There’s no way of knowing what will push him away and what eventually makes him fall. Maybe she doesn’t have to do anything. She never had to before – her Doctor has always been putty in her hands. It has been difficult to discover that from his perspective, that hasn’t always been the case.

Taking a deep breath, River squares her shoulders and lifts her chin, slinking into hiding but managing to find a position where spotting intruders will be easy enough. She flips on her two-way communicator so she’ll be able to alert the Doctor and Amy quickly and drops her other hand to her gun holster. The idiot may have relegated her to lookout but she’ll be damned if she lets anything get past that door, whether he likes it or not.

“I just don’t understand why you have to be so grumpy with her.”

Amy’s voice crackles over the line and River jumps, scrambling to turn down the volume as the Doctor replies petulantly, “I’m not grumpy with her.”

River bites her lip, hesitant to eavesdrop – those who do rarely hear good things about themselves. But if she turns the communicator off, she won’t be able to contact them or they her… she lifts it to her ear and listens.

Amy scoffs. “You snap at her, glare at the back of her head and I swear you almost stamped your foot ten minutes ago.”

“Well,” he flounders, clearly scowling. “She’s maddening. Always showing up with her ruddy spoilers and trouble at her heels.”

“You like trouble!”

“Not her kind of trouble! It’s all running in high heels and stealing priceless artifacts and sexy guns and snogging!”

Snorting, Amy says, “River’s not snogging you – oh. Is that what’s got you in a mood, Raggedy Man? River’s snogging all the guards for us with her magic lipstick and you’re feeling left out, are you?”