Series: iPod Shuffle Challenge
Fandom: Doctor Who
Character / Pairing Focus: (Tenth) Doctor x Rose Tyler
Rating: K / G / All Ages
Notes: Set during the 02x12 ("Army of Ghosts").
Disclaimer: Doctor Who and all respective properties are © the BBC. Megan D. (Veritas Found) does not, has never, nor will ever own Doctor Who.
Seven Wonders (performed by Nickel Creek)
And nothing he could say would change a thing
Seven wonders, crowed the man, knowing six are gone
And how the great delusion lingers on
They stand on rocky soil, overlooking a burnt orange sky that isn't quite right on a prehistoric planet. At least, it looks prehistoric; truth be told, it's more like that planet's equivalent of the Sahara. No one really goes there because it isn't the most hospitable of places, so as time marched on it remained relatively unchanged.
Except he knows better.
A thousand years ago, it was thriving with life. A bustling civilization just waiting to break out, and then the great famine had struck, the people died, the survivors moved farther south, time past, and soon no one lived in this wasteland but the wild creatures soaring through the sky (and maybe a spare vole; nature was funny like that). A thousand years to come, it will burst with life once more. Dropping temperatures will chase the inhabitants back this way, where they'll find a paradise they'll never want to leave. The cycle will repeat until the planet's death, but by that point – like the humans and Earth – the inhabitants will all be long gone and she'll die deserted. It was just the way of things.
Things live, things die; times come and pass, but for just a moment – one sparkling moment – he can stand on rocky soil, overlooking a burnt orange sky that isn't quite right on a prehistoric planet with her by his side. One day, she'll pass, too; they all do in the end. She promised him forever, and he knows she meant it, but no one ever stays that long. She'll find something – someone – better, or she'll be ripped away, or…well, things happen. Nothing good ever lasts. They've just been lucky so far, and each morning she wakes up he hopes their luck lasts just a bit longer.
"How long are you gonna stay with me?" he asks, needing to hear it one more time even though he knows it's an unintentional lie. All the good things go in the end, but for just this moment he can fool himself into believing she'll be the one that doesn't.
"Forever," she says, and then they smile and, though he knows she's wrong, he agrees.
