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Matt doesn't think that he's ever seen a set of the BBC studio with that many people until right now. There are David and Billie, Catherine who he was really excited to meet because he never actually talked to her before (even though Tennant won’t leave her alone for a second, so he barely gets a chance). Of course, there is Jenna- and then there is Alex, gorgeous, flirty Alex Kingston in the green, shimmering dress that brings out her hourglass figure like nothing else the costume department owns and who he hasn’t seen since last year. The way she makes his palms sweaty like a school boy’s and slows down his thought process is still the same, apparently. When he makes his way over to where The Kingston is currently standing and chatting to someone, lots of people wave at him with a slightly sad smile on their face. It's nice to know that he'll be missed, but the thought that this is his last episode to shoot upsets him so much that he can't really think about all the good parts of this right now.
Well, there is something that brings a smile to his face: Wrapping his arm around Alex's tiny waist and burying his face in her curls. "Alex bloody Kingston!" He smiles and kisses her cheek, trying to take a deep breath at the same time to take in the way she smells like honey and lavender and vanilla. "Matt!" Alex yelps and nearly loses her balance before she shoves him away and laughs. “Have you met Andrew yet?”
Only now he sees the man in front of Alex. He’s a bit older than him, already in costume and currently ogling Alex’s cleavage in River’s costume. Doctor number twelve. Right. He hasn’t met him yet. “Matt.” Andrew extends a hand in his direction and Matt shakes it, unable to keep the way he looks at him as friendly as he would’ve liked when he looks at Alex that way. He has no right to feel jealous whatsoever, but he still does. She’s his River. She’s 11th’s River. “Did you hear from Karen or Arthur?” Alex asks him curiously, and the fact that she’s bringing up people who they both know and the new Doctor doesn’t is somewhat comforting. But it doesn’t help much. Especially they're not in the episode, and the way David and Catherine are goofing around... It makes him miss Karen and Arthur so much.
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The script Steven wrote for the anniversary episode is absolutely spectacular. There are lots of twists and turns to the story that let characters that appeared previously in the show come to live again. There’s Matt’s Doctor’s regeneration in one of the final scenes. There’s Clara and River in a couple of scenes together, which always makes for some fantastic dialogue. And of course, he gets to flirt with Alex a lot. Which he enjoys immensely. But even though everything works out smoothly once they start shooting, Matt finds that he can’t really enjoy himself as much as he thought he would. And he tells himself that it has most certainly nothing to do with the fact that Andrew keeps flirting with Alex both on and off set, even though the thought that he’ll leave the show and then it would be Andrew’s Doctor who gets to be around River Song and is married to her doesn’t ever leave his mind.
He can’t even properly not like him. He’s a good actor, he’s closer to Alex’s age and has two kids on his own. He doesn’t act like a seven years old whenever he feels like it. He’s not as clumsy as Matt. He’s- He’s still stealing Alex. What an incredibly childish thought. And still, he tosses and turns in his bed instead of sleeping at night.
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Matt’s pointless jealousy goes far enough that people start to notice. Jenna tries to figure out what it is going on more than once, but his mouth stays shut. Steven asks him what’s wrong, but he just shakes his head. And then, during lunch break, when he is sitting on the steps of his trailer and watches Andrew sharing his sandwich with Kingston, there’s a pair of red Converse in the grass next to the steps and the only thing David says is “You should tell her.” Matt looks up at the Tenth Doctor, with his Scottish accent and even more hair than he has and blinks. “Who do you want me to tell what?” “Alex, Smith.” David shakes his head and sits down on the steps next to him. “Tell Alex how jealous you are of that new bloke before you leave.” “But- How did you…” “I think the only person on set who doesn’t notice is Alex. Do it before it’s too late.” There is something heavy in his voice when he says the last part and Matt looks at him curiously. “Maybe that’s the actual curse of the Timelords.” David shrugs. “Falling for their co-stars and never telling them.” “What do you mean?” Matt’s non-existing brows furrow in curiosity. “Catherine. I’m talking about Catherine. I don’t want this to happen to you.”
It all makes so much sense right now, how excited David was when Catherine showed up, and why he is telling him all of this. It’s good to know that he understands. He decides that he should do something about this. He really, really should. Especially when David is looking at him with that regretful expression. It's not something he wants to wear on his face without knowing it.
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Matt keeps telling himself this very thing until the last day of shooting. But really, what is he supposed to do? Andrew and Alex. The names even sound nice together. And they’re always there, laughing and touching each other, and Matt thinks by now that they’re actually a couple. David keeps shooting those stupid looks in his direction, but Matt pretends to ignore them. Even without Alex and Andrew, he’s so, so close to the end that he wishes the days that are left would pass a little slower. That he’d have more time. And this is one of the few precious moments where he can actually hate the new Doctor. Because he gets all of that. He gets time.
But then it’s here, that very last day, and he is in the costume department where they put him in his coat and bow tie, and after that in the make-up department where they hand him Amy Pond’s glasses, and all he can think is that this is the last time those little things will happen in that order. Last chances. How very, very ironic that the last scene he films today is a kiss with The Kingston.
He spends the entire day sitting on gloating coals, wanting it to end, not wanting it to end, and Andrew shakes his hand when he leaves around four in the afternoon and says that it was nice to meet him and Matt wishes him luck, when the only thing he can think about is how he’ll be allowed to kiss Alex and see her whenever she’s filming Who and why can’t she just die with her Doctor? Fine, he shouldn’t have thought that.
“Have you talked to her by now?” That’s David’s voice behind him, and Matt just growls without looking up. “No.” “Are you going to see her again after shooting then?” “I don’t know. Maybe.” Really, he tries so hard not to deal with this that it starts to distract him more than anything else. “But what-“ “Sod off, Tennant.” He regrets that as soon as it leaves his mouth, but David doesn’t seem to take it personally. Instead he just pats Matt on the shoulder, sighs and then closes the door behind him.
“And… Action!” Matt has an internal clock ticking away in his head while Alex speaks her lines, and he doesn’t have to act to be tense, even though it’s not because of the starting regeneration, but because of what is happening right now. This. Alex. The kiss. The last scene. The bloody cameras everywhere. Staring straight in Alex’s wonderful eyes and his heart jumping around like it always does with her, he watches her curls tumble over her shoulders when she leans down to where he’s laying on the ground, and then he’s kissing her.
It’s always something he looks forward to, kissing Alex. It’s not just a movie kiss, but there’s so much more to it that neither one of them ever speaks about. That sort of energy that makes him feel like he’s glowing inside. And he likes to think that that’s not just him imagining it. That she sees those cheesy fireworks behind her eyes, too. That it’s not just the way he’s acting that makes the director call “cut!” in an angry voice and then reminds them that this is a family show. But this time, all he thinks about is how Andrew is going to kiss her later in that very same episode, and how he should mess up the scene just so he can kiss her again. And still, this kiss just tastes bitter, even when it smells like Alex all around him and she has her fingers in his hair. Matt is more relieved than anything else when they hear “cut!” and gently pushes Alex away, who is staring down at him with big eyes. He remembers how she clung to him after the kiss in “The Wedding of River Song” and “I could just kiss you all night, Darling”, and wishes that he could have that again. That so, so simple and nice moment. Now, since Andrew is here, she hasn’t flirted that same way with him. Not once. Nothing.
“Matt?” Her voice is so concerned that it makes his heart clench a little. “Are you okay?” “Yeah.” He nods and gives her one of his lopsided grins, only that one doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “I just need a second.” He smiles at her and hopes that Alex will blame the fact that this is the last scene when he gets up and gives the “five minutes” sign to the director who nods and yells that they’re re-shooting for different angles soon and congratulates River and the Doctor for keeping the rating at an appropriate level for once. Matt can’t even smile at that, he just opens the door before he stands in the empty hallway and rubs his temples, telling himself that he can’t change it anyway when there’s steps behind him. “Darling?” Of course, out of all those people on set, it has to be Alex who followed him. Oh, this is just wonderful. “Darling, what’s wrong?” “It’s the last episode, Kingston.” His tone is a lot bitterer than he wanted it to be. “Do you think I’m singing and dancing around in circles because of that?” “That’s not what I mean.” Alex states and walks down the hallway until she stands in front of him, looking like she probably looks at Salome when she’s done something she shouldn’t have. “I’m not stupid, you know. You didn’t kiss me the same way.” So she did notice that. He’s not sure if he should be thrilled about that fact or if it even matters anymore. “So I did.” He agrees and looks down at Alex. “Why?” “B-because…” Matt stammers, looking for a way to avoid the truth- and out comes absolutely nothing.
He has no idea how it happens, or if Alex moves or if he moves, but suddenly she’s shoved against the wall of the hallway, trapped in his arms and his lips are on hers, searching for that familiar, glowing feeling as he opens her mouth with a sigh and lets their tongues dance together. The fact that she doesn’t try to pull away, but pulls him closer instead doesn’t even surprise him when he buries his hand in that fantastic hair of hers. He makes a sound of protest when she bites her lip, then pulls away, staring at him with so much confusion that it would be funny in any other situation. “Well, dear.” Alex sounds about as much out of breath as he feels as she straightens her dress. “That certainly changes things.”
Matt is standing there with his lips still slightly parted and can’t believe what just happened. He does owe her an explanation, though. “It’s- It’s just- but Andrew-“ “What about him?” Alex asks impatiently, her eyes searching his face and clearly trying to stay calm. “I thought- I thought you two had a thing.” He can even hear it himself, how jealous his voice sounds. Apparently Alex does, too. “You stupid idiot.” She hisses before she reaches for his face again and pulls him against her, and it’s all he can do to brace his arm against the wall before he crashes into it and kiss her back, his other hand already moving along those magnificent curves she has everywhere, trying to find bare skin and Alex. “So I take that as a no?” He breathes between their lips and all she does is nod and move her mouth to his neck so he can keep talking. Which kind of doesn't work out since he can't concentrate at all when she’s sucking on his skin like that. “Why didn’t you say something when you were so ridiculously jealous?” Alex looks up at him while her hands slide under the collar of his shirt and Matt shakes his head before claiming her lips again with his own. He can’t miss a second of this, because it’s the first time there are no cameras around that watch them. But she tastes the same anyway when he sucks on her tongue. “Because- Fuck it, why did you stop talking to me like we always did?” He presses Alex into the wall a little harder and can see her biting back a moan. They need to stop. They really, really should stop. But not right now. “Because I thought it’d be easier to get away from you if I started early.” She replies hurriedly and already yanks him in her direction again. “But never mind that part, darling.” “Alright, we’re both bloody idiots, Kingston.” “I know. Shut up.” Then there is nothing but Alex and his lips against hers, and pressing his body closer to her to feel her heartbeat against it while fingers tangle and pull on hair. Just when one of Matt’s hands slides lower to cup Alex’s bum that just looks a bit too good in that dress and Alex makes the most delicious sound in the back of her throat, someone clears their throat behind them and they spring apart. “If you two are quite finished, we might be able to go for another take.” David voice booms behind them, unable to hide his amusement, and while Alex laughs and buries her face in Matt’s neck (and nips on it too- the minx), Matt just grins at the Scotsman and gives him a thumbs-up sign.
Afterwards, when the scene is done (after several more takes, the director pulling on his hair after every single one and yelling, “There are children watching this!” and Alex and Matt giggling like said children), the set is tidied up a bit and people start to hug each other (Matt keeps pretending like he’s not crying, but everyone can see it anyway), Alex comes up to him and sneaks a kiss onto his cheek. “I’ll see you afterwards?” He doesn’t know what all of that means, or how it’s going to work out, but this is so, so much better from anything he had imagined this morning. There is a very realistic chance that he’s going to see a lot of Alex Kingston, even though they’re not working together anymore. So he doesn’t even hesitate a second before he nods. “You bet, Kingston.”