Wow. I actually wrote a fanfic that doesn't touch the Fullmetal Alchemist category at all. Not to mention I actually WROTE. Amazing. I haven't written for a while, what with the homelessness, and then my laptop getting stolen, and then moving to a completely new state... -sigh- Anyway, I'm starting to get settled in here, so here's hoping that I start writing more again soon. In the meantime, here's a DW oneshot.

Disclaimer: You know that sound the TARDIS makes? Well, it roughly translates to: "No one ever can or ever will own me, The Doctor, or any of our loved ones!" Thought you should know.

By the way, "loved ones" doesn't apply to Captain Jack.

The absolute worst part was the loneliness, that much was certain.

The Doctor sighed and sat down in one of the chairs by the control panel of the TARDIS, trying to figure out where to go to next. What was the point of showing off when you had no audience? No, when you were alone, there was no more silliness and no more acting, which translated roughly to no more hiding behind porcelain masks.

He closed his eyes and thought back to when he had been human. So much of that experience had been so very different, but the loneliness had been very much the same.

What had been the most important part of being human had been how incredibly humbling it had been. When you were raised as a time lord, cockiness practically was part of the birthright. After all, "lord" was used as an identifier for the very race itself. Any kid being raised on always being called "lord" or "lady" would almost always end up growing up thinking that they were such hot stuff.

But when you were human, you were small and pathetic and weak. You could only see time in one dimension, and even that was being constantly debated. And one heart. Seriously. That was a disaster walking around on two legs just begging to be activated. Which might have have been part of why humans lived such incredibly short lives. The doctor had lived about ten full human lives, and his people still viewed him as the "reckless youngster."

And the love that humans felt was so... free. A time lord loved just as deeply as a human, if not more a lot of the time, but a human got giddy just out of being in love. The Doctor couldn't remember the last time he had ever been giddy due to love. Then again... he probably never had been giddy due to love, he thought with an amused shake of his head. He had always been raised on the idea that love was a burden, that love was something to be avoided. Humans spent their whole lives searching and aching for love, so when they finally got it, they got... well, downright idiotic! Some people even would change the very essence of who their were to warp and fit with a person they had fallen for.

Fallen. That in itself spoke volumes about how the doctor viewed love. It was as if humans had such a hard time standing that they almost prefered to fall to ground, head over heels. The time lords, however, generally hated not being in control. Therefore, love was simply not a good idea.

The Doctor sighed to himself. Most time lord marriages were due to politics or money or some other rubbish, anyway. And heaven forbid if a human were to marry a time lord. The time lord would have his own race forget that he had ever existed.

Which was exactly why the doctor always tried to push two humans (or otherwise) who obviously loved each other together. He had seen the human point of view, and all they ever lived for was love. It was the very reason the human race was able to survive as long as they had. Because out of all the emotions to build a race upon, love was certainly the strongest, purest, and most hopeful of them all. The daleks had built their society on fear and hate, and look where they had ended up.

Even the time lords, the gods of the universe, eventually had their society fall as well, because they had built everything on the ideal of pride. Always be proud of yourself, of your brothers, sisters, mother, father. Be proud that you are a time lord. No one else in the entire universe can look down upon you. No one else will ever be able to do or see the things that you can.

And that was part of why the Doctor liked to bring humans along with him. It kept him humble. He wasn't the only one who could see and do the awesome things he did, he just happened to be the one who held the key. And honestly, if he picked the right person, a human could do so much more good with one day than a time lord could do with his entire life.

That was the real burden of being the last time lord. He had to find the right person among all the humans down on Earth. The one who would be able to fix so many problems, just because they knew how to love anyone and everything with every single fiber of their being. It was as if a human could give all of their love to everything and never run out of essence to give.

And that was why he loved the humans so much. Because they would always love him more than his own race ever had. Because they loved the entire universe with a passion more fiery and beautiful than anything he had ever seen. They just had a few moments of greed and envy that sometimes got in the way and made them lose sight of who they were. But somehow, those tiny little humans actually believed that as small and weak as they were, that they could do so much good throughout the universe. That they could be the race that touched every corner of existence. And they were right.

The Doctor smiled to himself and closed his eyes. They would just have to get through him first.

As soon as he figured out where he was going.

Yay for sap! Have a happy early Valentine's Day!

Edit: Found some typos. Ugh, I hate typing at the library. It makes me get things done, but then I get pressed for time. Anyway, all better now, apologies to everyone, blaaaaah.