I
I
It is a goodbye kiss, given amidst stale air and dull walls, hushing his protests and sealing their time together.
He needs you too
He would like to pull her into his arms and refuse to let her go, but that is selfish, and childish, so he does not. Instead, he squeezes her hand, and calls her brave.
She'll die here
She knows precisely what she's doing, as she so often does, and he cannot treat her like the child she was on Traken.
Like you, I'm indestructible
He must believe in her, because the alternative doesn't bear thinking of.
II
She tastes like winter.
She is a being very few could understand. She has killed out of necessity. She has loved and lost for centuries, sacrificing everything for those who need her.
Kindred spirits, caught in a maelstrom of violence and dread, of fighting to the death and running until you fall.
When the sun rises, he must leave her behind. She is bound to the Earth in a way he could never understand, and he to the stars.
They share a kiss before he leaves, the renegade lord and the mother wolf, and they will never forget each other.
III
Sometimes, in the Doctor's dreams, he saves him. He embraces mercy once more, and takes the hand that reaches out for him.
Always, the Master smiles, that smug, infuriating smile that makes his eyes glint and his teeth flash. His grip on the Doctor's hand becomes painful, and the Doctor asks if he should have let him burn.
Sometimes it ends there. This time, the Master wrenches him forward, and the Doctor stumbles against him as their lips brush.
"Consider this my thanks, my dear Doctor."
He awakes trembling with hatred and fear and desire, and guilt eats him alive.
IV
They stand on a dying planet, bound by damp hands and soft words.
I don't want to leave you, Doctor. I've learned so much from you
Turlough knows again what it is to care for people, friends and strangers alike; he remember how to risk, how to try.
I shall miss you
The Doctor misses everyone, but this time there shall be no useless conjecture, no lasting regret.
His hand tightens on his companion's, and he pulls him close, into a tender embrace and a gentle kiss.
At least, he wishes he had. Perhaps then, Turlough wouldn't have left him.
V
She's no less stubborn than when he knew her last. He knows, as he argues, that he is going to lose, but still he tries.
But really, Doctor. No more aliens
She tells him that she doesn't regret meeting him, that she is happy, that he changed her for the better. They laugh together, and remember.
I'm not in love with you. Not now, not then, not ever
Still, she kisses his cheek, and the warmth will linger on his skin long after she wishes him farewell.
Remember what you always told me. Brave heart. You'll survive.
He always does.