Brothers

Art, it truly was a great release to be able to express oneself through the pages and ink, curved lines and carefully shaded areas forming an image out of seemingly nothing, born out of sheer talent and patience. To Theta Sigma, drawing was one of the few times in his world that he was ever just…still. There was no expectations placed upon him when he lost himself to his drawing, just him and his work, losing himself for hours on end with barely any concept of time, an achievement rarely afforded to even a young Gallifreyan like himself. He didn't have to put on any facade when he focused on his work, he didn't have to listen to the ever present whispers that seemed to constantly follow in his footsteps, the rumours of why he had been allowed in the Academy when he was so clearly barely capable of even behaving correctly, let alone like a proper Time Lord ought to, the rumours surrounding his unusual birth and doubts of his parentage that still seemed to linger, even though they were utterly false. Not that anyone would ever know that it bothered him and, to be fair, it didn't bother him that greatly, after thirty years of listening to such things, he had grown used to shutting it out, he knew the truth, what did it matter what others thought? But even still, he refused to let anyone see the rare moments that those horrible rumours did hit him, preferring to conceal all of that under a cheerful, rebellious disregard for the rules and a boyish charm.

Only a select few knew how much it got to him, Koschei knew, of course. He had always known, ever since they had first meet, he hadn't exactly shyed away from asking very blankly and with little attempt at gentleness if any of it was true. It had been refreshing, Theta had found himself taking an almost instant liking towards the other boy just on how upfront and unashamed he had been asking the question, while others might have gossiped about it behind his back. But that was Koschei, he didn't shy away from asking possibly hurtful questions if he was curious enough, some might have called that tactless, rude, even, or possibly even outright mean, but to Theta it had been a very welcome change. It had also helped that Koschei had turned out to be pretty brilliant. Then there was Ushas, who hadn't showed the slightest bit of interest, but Theta still found himself feeling oddly grateful towards her, though even he had to admit that Ushas wasn't an easy person to like or warm to…still, he considered her to be a friend and despite her cool apathy towards him for the most part, he could admire her intelligence.

And then there was Ariana.

His mouth curved into a soft smile at the thought of the dark haired girl, bringing his pencil lightly across the picture he had spent the better half of three hours drawing, while blissfully ignoring the stack of homework on his desk. He just couldn't help smiling at the thought of her, the image of those big, expressive deep blue eyes and shy, but lovely little smile that often graced her lips, making his chest warm and his heart give a little jump of excitement. She was the one he had perhaps confided in the most regarding his feelings, he had known Koschei longer, even Ushas longer, but it was just easy with Ariana. She listened, without judgment, without questioning, without scorn, just a gentle acceptance and real concern, directed towards him, of all people. Never had she made any remark to disregard his feelings, nor had she ever laughed or scoffed at him, something he couldn't say for any of his other friends. He thought he could probably tell her anything and the worst reaction she might give would be to scold him. They had only known each other a decade now, but he often found himself feeling closer to her than anyone else, she just…understood him and he understood her. She wasn't his mirror copy by any stretch, but she did complete him, he felt more like himself when he was around her, more like who he wanted to be when they were together. She made him try harder, pushed him to be better, and he in return challenged her to stand up for herself more, to accept that she had a voice and that she could use it.

Together, he thought them an unbeatable force, her with her cleverness and genuine kind heart, and him with his disregard for the rules and love of fun. She was softer than him, calmer, while he was more like a brash force that could barely be contained, but with an underlying warmth and gentleness that showed best when he was with her. Ariana brought that side out of him, made him want to just…stop for a second and be in the moment with her, reassure her, protect her, encourage her, while he hoped that he inspired her to stand up for herself more, use the powerful voice that she already possessed to take control over her own life and just be…courageous, like he knew she was. She was capable of doing everything and anything, and he knew that once she realised that she would likely come to her senses and realise that she was wasting her time with him, silly, foolish Theta Sigma, who barely got into the Academy, let alone would be lucky to become a Time Lord. She'd outgrow him, he knew it, but Rassilon could he stop himself from wanting to be around her or help her get to that point, even if it meant losing her, because he knew she would be magnificent and he couldn't help wanting to see that, play whatever tiny role he could in that.

Even if it meant having to say goodbye to her in the end.

Theta frowned at that thought, his pencil stilling on the parchment, swallowing thickly as his hand curled tightly around the pencil, almost threatening to snap it in half. It almost brought a bitter smile to his lips, no one would expect him to be capable of thinking such deep thoughts or to even consider the future, but he did. Rassilon, he did. He thought about it more then he liked to admit, even to himself, but it never stopped the bitter truth of it. But…for now he had Ariana's friendship, he could take heart in that, even if it didn't last, he would always have these memories. That thought brought hope to him again and he treasured it as he brought his attention back onto the picture sprawling out across the paper.

Ariana, looking very focused at something in the distance of the page, leaning her chin delicately on the palm of her hand, her long hair pulled back from her lovely, fragile face in her preferred plait. He hadn't been able to get the image out of his head since their lesson earlier that day, she had sat in her allocated seat across the room from him, since their wise professors knew that keeping them separated was for the best, staring ahead of her up to where Borusa had been lecturing…Theta couldn't even recall what the class had been on, so busy merely casting her quick, lingering looks throughout the lesson. It had been the expressions on her face he had admired the most, the way that her eyebrows had curved upwards with pleasure and curiosity when she heard something new, while a small flicker of a smile had crossed her lips at other times, the closest she perhaps ever looked to being smug when she clearly understood something that no one else in the room did. However, it was the look of focus that came over her face when she was really concentrating on what was being said that had caught his eye the most, her eyes narrowing very slightly and her forehead creasing, while her lips would pull between her teeth. She almost looked like she could take over Gallifrey with just that one look and he had just simply had to try and capture it on paper.

Not that he thought he quite did it justice. He was tempted to tear it out of the sketch book and just start all over again, three hours of attention and a slightly aching wrist and fingers, be damned. But before he could, his bedroom door was thrown open, only decades of being used to this preventing him from flinching in surprise from off his bed, flickering his eyes up in time to see Koschei come strutting in, almost as though it was him room, rather than Theta's. His cool eyes roamed around the space, reaching out to lightly drum his fingertips against the stack of leather bound volumes pilled messily on the edge of the dark wooden desk, tapping in a four beat rhythm without seemingly even being aware of it himself. Theta narrowed his eyes, though he refined from bringing it up.

"You missed dinner," Koschei informed him in drawling tone, grabbing the top book and flicking it open, running his eyes down the print with a slight lift to his thin, light eyebrows.

"I got caught up with something," Theta replied, flipping his sketch book closed and hoping dearly he hadn't noticed. He rolled his sore wrist around, grimacing as it gave a rather loud crack, before stretching his fingertips of his right hand out.

"Evidently. Your presence was missed".

He felt his heart lift slightly, though he struggled to conceal the flash of warmth that filled his chest at those words, "I do hope I didn't upset Ariana," he said, forcing his voice to remain normal, just the right amount of concern.

Koschei snapped the book shut and dropped it back on the desk with loud thump, throwing the other boy a raised eyebrow look, "Who said I was speaking of Ariana?" he asked with a hint of knowing in his tone. He pulled the high backed chair out from beneath the desk, turning it so that is was on an angle towards the bed on the other side of the room, before dropping into it with far more grace then Theta ever could successively pull off. If he tried, he probably would have whacked his forehead on the chair instead…not that he had tried before, absolutely not. Koschei's lips twisted into a small smirk, regarding Theta from afar, "Perhaps I was speaking of myself, after all, I am so lost without you…"

Theta rolled his eyes and threw his pencil at him, drawing a laugh from Koschei, who sadly managed to catch it before it could hit his chest, "My heart positively bleeds for you, too," he said with a voice dripping with sarcasm, "However do you cope without me by your side every waking moment?"

"Quite easily, actually," he said lightly, lifting the pencil up to his eyes, eyeing it thoughtfully before flicking his gaze back over to Theta, "Exactly what have you been doing? Clearly not homework…"

"I'll get to that later," Theta waved a dismissive hand over towards the stack of books. He could practically hear Ariana scolding him that he really ought to do it now, considering he had at least eight essays in desperate need of his attentions, not to mention he probably ought to be studying for that practical exam on hypnosis they had coming up with Borusa, who would not only expect them to be able to demonstrate perfectly the ability to place their partner, Ariana, in Theta's case, under thrall for a length of time, but also explain the forms of hypnosis, the benefits and downsides, the application, and psychic process of it. He might be a Gallifreyan and therefore genetically predisposed towards telepathy and hypnosis, but that didn't mean that everyone was as immediately talented at the subject as Koschei seemed to be, having been toying with hypnosis for years now. Even Ariana was quite knowledgeable on the subject, though she had promised to do her very best to put down her mental wards and let Theta put her under without too much of a fight…though, she had warned him that her natural instinct to protect her mind could outweigh her conscious effort.

"How you haven't been kicked out already, I honestly don't know, sometimes".

He smiled faintly at that, leaning back more comfortably onto his pillows, which he had stacked high behind his back, his legs stretched out before him with his ankles crossed on top of the orange covers of his bed. He looked physically closer to a thirteen, almost fourteen year old now, still rather boyish in his features, much to his annoyance, but he was pleased to see himself starting to mature a bit, his features growing sharper and, in his eyes, handsomer. He had also grown a few inches; he was now at least five inches taller than Ariana, who was lucky to be scrapping five foot with little inclination of her having another growth spurt any time soon. He thought it was great; personally, Ariana almost looked like a doll now, though she'd likely wouldn't be very impressed with him if he ever said that to her face.

"I do enough to get by," he told him lightly, allowing a hint of smugness to lace his tone at his words.

Koschei scoffed at that and rose from the chair, wondering across to peer out the large, circular window on the right hand side of the room in the curved wall. Night was fast approaching, the first glimpse of the stars just starting to come out in the clear, mauve sky. There was a certain peacefulness to the night, but Theta would always prefer the day, even if it meant having to give up the stars for a short time. Koschei, however, had always liked the night the best, it suited him, in fact. He turned around then, his light eyes falling onto the sketchbook that Theta had absently set aside on the bed next to him. Theta noticed his gaze a second too late; Koschei dashed forward and grabbed the book, just as Theta did, both boys wrestling with it for a moment in a very undignified manner. In the end, Theta reluctantly released his hold from the book, out of fear of accidently damaging it, glaring at Koschei, who almost tripped backwards before managing to catch himself, smirking victoriously with the dark red, leather bound book grasped firmly in his hands.

"You certainly did try to put up more of a fight then I was expecting," Koschei commented, running a hand through his light coloured hair, smoothing it back off his handsome, sharp face. He flickered his eyes curiously over the book, "It does make one wonder…"

"There's nothing interesting in there," Theta huffed, pushing himself up off the bed, eyes narrowed on his so called friend, "It's just a bunch of rubbish".

"So why are you so determined to not let me see inside it?" he lifted an eyebrow, eyes snapping steadily and coolly onto Theta, who pressed his lips together in a firm line, unable to answer. He smirked at that, "I thought so," he almost sung, flipping the book open immediately to the very picture that Theta had spent the past three hours working so hard on. He scoffed as he eyed the picture, "Of course…Ariana".

Theta sighed heavily, turning away from him to face the window, feeling the back of his neck flush with embarrassment and apprehension. He hadn't intended for anyone to find out about his drawing, let alone the fact that it was but one in a series of several that he done…he almost sounded like he was stalking the poor girl, but he wasn't. He simply found her quite inspiring; he enjoyed trying to capture the same expressions and emotions that crossed Ariana's face. She was his muse, he supposed, and while he wasn't exactly ashamed of that fact, he couldn't help feeling as though it was something precious and private, something he wanted to keep to himself, for a while, at least.

"Hmm…" Koschei's drawling voice broke through the air, making Theta want to groan aloud, "You know, it's actually quite lifelike…I suppose you do have talent for something, after all".

"Ha, ha, Koschei," Theta said dryly, forcing himself to turn around and face him, giving him a deep frown, "Have you finished with your amusement now? If so, please don't forget to close the door behind you, it lets a terrible draft in otherwise".

He looked up at that, amusement crossing his features as he snapped the book shut, tossing it back onto the rumpled covers of the bed, "Oh, you're actually cross with me, aren't you?" he eyed him closely, restrained laughter lacing his tone, as though it was somehow very funny to him.

"It's…" he broke off with a heavy sigh, finding himself quite unable to finish, not knowing quite how to finish, if he was being honest with himself. Frustration filled him, why couldn't he explain why it bothered him so much? In the past, he wouldn't have minded that much, he might have been a little embarrassed that Koschei had been looking at one of his artworks, but he wouldn't have felt quite so…upset, almost angry, towards the other boy for sticking his nose in something that was supposed to be just his and his alone. What was happening to him?

Something seemed to dawn on Koschei's face then, his eyes widening very slightly in realisation and he even took a very small step backward, staring at Theta with an expression close to surprise and, perhaps even slight concern, "Oh…you fool," he muttered, shaking his head, "You utter, utter fool…you like her".

Theta blinked, confused, "What?"

"Ariana, you like her, you actually do, don't you? All this time, Ushas and I have been merely teasing the two of you, just to see you squirm when we throw it at you, but it's actually happened. You like her!"

"What, no!" he almost shouted, his eyes widening in shock and flinching at the accusation, as though someone had just thrown a punch at him. His cheeks, however, betrayed him; burning bright red and his heart…it was almost leaping out of his chest, while his stomach seemed to drop straight through the floor. He felt almost dizzy and sick, but not with the idea of liking Ariana, no, but rather from the startling realisation that maybe, just maybe, there might be a tiny grain of truth to Koschei's words, "No…" he breathed, slightly less sure now, his entire body almost going numb. It couldn't possibly be true, no, absolutely not…but why not? Why couldn't it be that simple? Perhaps it was…

Koschei was still watching him, but there was no humour in his gaze, but rather something else, something much closer to actual concern. Theta had never seen him look at him like that before; it was almost as alarming the very real possibility that he might have a thing for Ariana. Koschei didn't just show concern for people, not even for Theta.

"It won't work," he said softly, though his gaze still remained firmly on Theta, who felt himself stiffen, "You and Ariana…you're on two different paths, her place is here, on Gallifrey, while we have our pact, remember? Every star in the Universe, they'll be ours, Ariana has no place in that…"

"She could," Theta cut in sharply, suddenly feeling angry, stepping closer to Koschei with a dark glare in his eyes. He didn't know for sure how he felt about Ariana, but that was hardly his main concern right now, no, instead he felt as though he needed to stand up for her. He wanted her to join them when they left Gallifrey, he and Koschei had been planning it for years now, he knew that she would love it as much as they would, she was just as much a free sprite at heart as he was, how could he not want her to come with them? He fixed Koschei with an angry look, one that actually seemed to surprise the other boy, "She isn't like the others, Koschei, she'd be miserable here, she wants to see the Universe just as much as we do".

"Perhaps now she does, but it won't last. She'll grow up eventually, Theta".

He flinched at that, because wasn't that exactly what he thought, too? But maybe…maybe not, maybe she wouldn't, could he dare hope for that? He licked his lips, drawing in a deep breath, "I believe in her," he said strongly.

"Then you're a lovesick fool," Koschei sneered, narrowing his eyes on the other boy, who refused to be ruffled by his harsh words.

"Koschei…" he sighed, shaking his head, giving him a look caught between disappointment and pleading. He reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, pleased when he didn't shake it off, "We're brothers, me and you, and one day we'll see every star in the Universe, have wild adventures and learn the deepest, oldest secrets of the Universe, but for now…you've just got to trust me, please?"

Koschei stared back at for a long moment, before he shrugged Theta's hand off him, "Fine," he huffed, his voice cool and his gaze like ice, "But don't whine to me when she breaks your heart in the end, because she will".

"I don't like her," Theta groaned, closing his eyes in exasperation, feeling as though he ought to finally clear that one up, for now. There was the tiny chance that he might be…okay, so maybe it was a bit bigger than just tiny, but he wasn't quite ready to admit that, least of all to Koschei, who seemed to think that him crushing on Ariana was going to be his doom.

Koschei merely rolled his eyes and scoffed, turning on his heel to leave him be. Theta sighed, running a hand down his face as the door closed behind him friend, his eyes falling onto the stack of homework he really ought to be doing…hmm, a mountain of homework or spending the evening trying to figure out if he liked one of his dearest friends? Homework was looking really appealing right about now…

Another update? So soon? Shocking, I know, considering it usually takes me two years to update this story, but here we are! As you might note, there's been another five year time lapse in this chapter, so Theta and Ariana are now thirty years old. They grow up so fast. I really wanted this chapter to focus more around Theta and Koschei's relationship, mixed with Ariana's impact in their lives, since the Doctor, the Master, and the Hatter truly do have quite the history together with a number of complicated twists and turns. I really wanted to show the start of that in this chapter.

The next chapter for the main story is getting there, I promise, I'm on my second week of my last and final, three week lot of placement, so it's been delaying things a bit, and my dog is dying, as well. She was diagnosed with kidney failure a few weeks ago and she's declined very rapidly, so, much to my own devastation, it won't be much longer. And as much as writing is a good distraction, it's been a bit of a struggle to concentrate on anything, but I will get it finished as soon as I possibly can. It truly is a good distraction, when I can do it. Tell me what you thought; I'm kind of curious if you guys would like to see more from Theta's point-of-view in the future? Please review :)