In Colours and in Words

"Run," one word in a shop basement was all it took for Rose Tyler to find her soulmate. She had imagined this moment countless times throughout her life but being chased by shop dummies whilst holding the hand of a strange man who seemed intent on blowing up the shop, was not a scenario she had ever entertained.

Spending the next day running around and saving her planet with her soulmate sparked something in her that she could not yet put a name to but it made her feel truly alive for the first time in her life and when the Doctor invited her to travel with him, she hesitated, thoughts of her mum in her mind even as she used Mickey as an excuse. Saying no, she knew, would forever be her biggest regret, and her greatest heartbreak.

A moment later, when the Doctor returned, Rose knew she could not resist him or his offer and this time she ran from who she was, to whoever she would become.


The moment he took her hand, he knew. For the first time, everything was in vibrant colour. It was disconcerting but he was a Time Lord and he was here for a purpose. He brutally pushed away the knowledge that somehow this girl was his soulmate and focused on getting her out of the building safely.

He couldn't resist asking her name though, something in him was desperate to know her. Rose Tyler. His soulmate was a clever and curious shop girl from earth, named Rose Tyler. That could not possibly be right. The universe hates him, this is a fact he knows well, but what did Rose ever do that would make the universe punish her by tying her to him?

She follows him, she helps him, she sees the things that he misses, she saves him. He'd be lying if he said he didn't want her with him. He wants. Oh, how he wants.

He is both heartbroken and relieved when she says no to his invitation to travel. She deserves so much more than chips and telly and beans on toast. Rose Tyler deserves the universe and he can show it to her. Still, it's probably best this way. If she stays in London, at least she'll be safe from him.

He has no strength left anymore though, not after the war, and before he realizes what he's doing he has the TARDIS materializing back in that dingy street before a minute has even passed. This time Rose runs to him and he can't deny, it feels good.

He's showing off, trying to impress her. She smiles and laughs, a reprieve from the silence that haunts him now, and he wants more of both in his life. He suspects she's curious about the soulmate bond but she hasn't asked and he refuses to mention it. He isn't sure what he'll say if she does. Does he lie and say Time Lords don't have soulmates? Or does he tell her the truth, that yes, they are soulmates but nothing more can ever come of it? He will not destroy her light with his darkness. He will fight it with everything he has left.

He is hoping she'll never say anything, he is hoping she will. Either way, he knows he'll wait for her to take the lead and until then, he'll marvel at seeing the universe in full colour for the very first time.