Theta had snuck away again. Koschei was being pulled into a meeting with one of their professors and Thete hated how he acted when he came out. Koschei would push him away and try to act like a proper time lord for a few hours before curling their fingers together and talking about running away with him again. Theta loved it when they talked about running away. He snuck down to lay in the grass, soaking up the feeling of the suns above him and the red grass tickling his skin. That was when he felt it for the first time. The golden glow of time seemed to flow off a woman like an aura.

The woman looked over at him when he sat up, quickly trying to wipe the dirt off his clothes, not wanting to get reprimanded himself again. Surprisingly the woman just smiled at him and laid down on the grass a little further away. Theta was immediately curious. He had never met a time lady who wanted to just bask in the suns like he did.

"What are you doing?" He asked curiously. The woman looked over at him again. His time senses immediately went haywire when he tried to take a peek at her timeline. It was all over the place. It seemed she never stayed in one place or time for long.

"Sunbathing." The woman spoke as if it were obvious what she was doing, but Theta had never seen someone do this before. He finally noticed what she was wearing. The entirety of his knowledge of xenocultures had to be utilized to place where the outfit came from. It seemed to be as mismatched as her timeline. The shirt was from the 21st century of Sol III. The shorts were from a human colony called New Earth. The shoes were from a pleasure planet from the 54th century.

"You're dressed oddly." The words were out of his mouth before he could analyze how they would be taken by the woman. Theta was fascinated with her. A woman who seemed so out of place from the people of Gallifrey knowing his spot to lay in the grass.

"For Gallifrey maybe, but maybe I think you are dressed weird." She shot back with a smile. Theta flushed at the clear snipe at his attitude. She wouldn't be the first to call him rude, but she didn't seem offended. Theta curiously sat down beside the woman, tucking his knees up to his chest.

"Why are you out here?"

"I'll tell you why I am here if you tell me why you are here?" Her quip was easy and teasing. She almost sounded like Koschei, the way she spoke. Koschei was the only one who teased him like this without cruelty behind the words.

"Koschei got reprimanded because of me again," Theta admitted softly, not thinking to expand on who Koschei was. The woman nodded understandingly even without the explanation. Theta filed the information away. This mystery woman knew who Koschei was.

"I am hiding out. I got caught sneaking into a type 40 capsule." She admitted to her crime without question. Theta's hearts raced at the thought of getting to travel in a type 40. They were older models, notoriously temperamental and picky. He hoped he would one day get to fly one, but going off his scores on the driving test it didn't look good.

"What were they like?" Theta couldn't hide his excitement. He wondered if she had taken it for a joy ride considering her clothes. The council would not be pleased when and if they found her. Even if she had passed her test it was frowned upon to interfere with other planets.

"Oh, she's the best. I don't think a newer model could ever compare! She is a stubborn old bat, but I love her." She said with a fond look. Theta couldn't keep the grin off his face at the thought of getting to pilot a type 40.

"She sounds amazing."

"She is."

"What are you going to do when they find you?"

"Pop away again." Her smile was mischievous. She looked like she knew she wouldn't be caught. She reminded him of Koschei again. His stomach knotted as he thought about the hours of silence he was about to have to endure.

"Theta!" Koschei ran over to them knowing where to find him from past experiences. He froze seeing the woman there. The woman just waved at Koschei gesturing for him to join them. Koschei looked anxious.

"You must be Koschei. Come enjoy the suns with us." She didn't seem phased by the anxiety rolling off Koschei. It always made Theta nervous. He never knew when Koschei was going to get scared of what their professors said and try to act properly.

"Who are you?" Koschei sounded polite, but Theta knew better. Koschei didn't like most people. He didn't like the expectations that everyone had for him. Koschei tapped on his leg uncomfortably.

"A friend? You can call me whatever you want."

"You do not have a title?"

"Oh, I do. You just can't know it yet. It's too early for you." Koschei's eyes lit up at the mystery and he finally sat down beside Theta. Theta couldn't resist brushing their hands together, his hearts racing at the small touch of telepathy the touch allowed.

"Oi, no mental canoodling in front of me. You two can save that for private time." The woman teased them and Koschei instinctively pulled away before he realized that she wasn't angry with them. Theta was surprised that she even noticed. Most people couldn't tell when they brushed their minds together affectionately.

"How did you know?"

"Because I know you two. Can't keep your minds to yourselves." She said before she paused. Koschei's eyes lit up a bit more.

"You are from our future! You're messing around with temporal laws! You're going to get in trouble!" Koschei sounded concerned, which confused Theta. Koschei usually didn't care about anyone else getting in trouble. Koschei liked to stir up trouble himself more often than not.

"You really are too clever for your own good." The woman seemed to almost pout at Koschei. Koschei grinned at the compliment.

"You can't tell us your name because then our timelines would be wonky. So we need to come up with a nickname." Theta said excitedly. It felt like another secret between him and Koschei. No one else knew that this woman was from their future. Someday they would be friends with someone who visited far-off planets enough to be wearing clothes from different eras.

"Up to you, but I will veto it if I don't like it." She warned.

"Can we have a little hint?"

"Hmmm. Pick a flower." She said with a wry smile. Theta filed the information away for later. This woman was connected to flowers somehow. When he finally met her he would know why.

"What about Arkytior?"

"It's fitting! All yellow and gold like you are. You are now Arkytior!" Koschei announced with a grin. The woman- Arkytior- beamed at them.

"I love it. Arkytior. Can I tell you a secret?" She suddenly asked. Koschei nodded quickly, leaning closer to her, his eyes bright with mischief.

"You both call me that well after you learn my name." She whispered to them both.

"You knew what we were going to pick! That's cheating." Theta pouted at Arkytior already knowing what they would pick for her. Arkytior laughed happily, laying back on the grass again.

"Only a bit. You two could have chosen something else first and picked Arkytior later. Just because I know you both later doesn't mean I knew what happened today."

"It's still cheating."

"I know I shouldn't judge you on your future selves, but Koschei you really have no room to talk."

"Why are you here?" It was strange for Arkytior to knowingly go back into their timeline to lay in the grass with them. Nothing special was happening. They weren't doing anything grand. It was just a normal day.

"You told me I was here. I am just fulfilling the causal loop." Theta tilted his head wondering what could possibly make Arkytior come to their past. They sat there and talked for a while before Theta shot up remembering something he needed to get done. Koschei waved him off ahead of them, saying he wasn't ready to leave yet.

"Why did you lie to him?" Koschei finally asked and Arkytior seemed to settle with a soft smile.

"Because I don't want to make our relationship a fixed point. He has the right to choose. I know that this regeneration of him is really flighty. I don't want to make him feel like I am imminent doom. I love him." The words cut into Koschei even though he already knew what she was going to say.

"Where am I in all this? He's my everything." Arkytior moved towards Koschei, her hand hovering a few inches away in a question of permission to touch him.

"Koschei, for someone so brilliant, you really are blind." Koschei looked at her for a long moment before he nodded and she threaded their fingers together brushing her mind against his lovingly.

"Oh." Koschei felt floored by the overwhelming feeling of love and affection when their minds brushed.

"You're not just his husband to me. I know this hasn't happened for you yet, but we get along quite fantastically in the future. My symphony." Koschei looked up at her in shock at the pet name she chose. Arkytior smiled and nodded.

"You two aren't bonded yet, are you?"

"No, but thank you for confirming that he will say yes."

"I didn't realize I was that early in your timelines."

"Are we going to see you again? Here? You're not Gallifreyan even if he hasn't quite noticed yet. Your mind feels different and you smell of different pheromones."

"You really are a genius, Koschei. Yes, you will definitely see me again soon. He remembers me being at your bonding ceremony."

"Really? I don't know how the council will feel about that."

"Give them a few centuries. They get better. Theta does a lot to change things."

"Why are you still holding my hand?" Koschei suddenly realized that most of their conversation had been telepathic as their minds connected from the touch.

"Because I like it. I am not a Time Lady as you have said. My species is very tactile. Do you want me to stop?" Arkytior sent a wave of reassurance to let Koschei know that it was okay to pull away even though they were mentally linked.

"It's… nice? I am not used to extended contact."

"Theta gets more tactile as he gets older. I know you have always been the more tactile of you, but not for long." Arkytior reassured him of the one thing he was worried about. Theta never really liked being touched. He brushed their hands together to link their minds, but once they bonded they wouldn't need it. He would lose the contact that he craved from him.

"Really?"

"Yeah, by the time you two catch up to my timeline you are touching quite a lot." Arkytior was teasing him. He could tell, but he still couldn't hide the way his cheeks flushed at the implication of what she said. Koschei's mouth went dry at the thought.

"That's not done on Gallifrey," Koschei said, the lecture he had just gotten weighing on his mind. Arkytior smiled softly and pulled her hand away to hug Koschei tightly.

"I never said you two were on Gallifrey. Gallifrey isn't quite so strict about traveling in the future. You have that to look forward to. Theta of course gets into mischief on every planet he lands on." Koschei couldn't muffle the snort at that. Theta was always getting himself into trouble. You couldn't leave him alone for an hour before you found him ankle-deep in some mess that Koschei needed to get him out of.

"Same old Theta then."

"Same old Theta. A lot changes, but a lot stays the same." Koschei nodded. He knew she wasn't lying. Her mind was too loud and honest to even doubt that. Koschei pulled back.

"I should go check on him."

"I should also be getting back. I left him alone for too long. The poor man probably found a crisis even if it is longer for me than him."

"Can you tell him something?"

"Of course. Anything."

Koschei grabbed her hand one more time sending a wave of love that was temporally transcendent.

"You time lords and your complex tenses. I'll give him the message, but it would do well to tell the Theta that you haven't married yet that as well." Koschei made a face at the thought of confessing his feelings to Theta. Theta seemed oblivious to the way Koschei felt about him.

"See you soon, my hearts." Arkytior kissed his cheek softly before she seemed to disappear into a shine of gold light that looked like a regeneration. Koschei stood there a moment longer to let himself be excited for the future that Arkytior was from. A future where Theta loved him back and they bonded.

Arkytior never stayed long when she would show up. She would often just sit with them when they had some free time. Other times she would grab their hands and sneak them into new parts of Gallifrey that they had never found before. It became their tradition. They would hide away in them whenever they needed to get away. The pressure for them to conform to society got heavier and heavier on their shoulders and Koschei didn't know how to talk to Theta about it.

"You know what is going on here with us, don't you? You sneak us away when you do because you know what is going on outside these walls." Arkytior looked over at him with a sad look. Theta had fallen asleep over a book he had to read for class. He was drooling on it and Arkytior had started gently running her fingers through his hair to soothe him deeper into sleep.

"You have told me a lot. Theta likes to keep things bottled up as you know, but you talk to me about this." Arkytior pulled her hand away from Theta's hair to move and sit beside Koschei.

"I don't know how I got through this without losing my mind. They want me to be a soldier and I don't even know who I am supposed to be fighting. It's like they are trying to break me down into a tool for them to use." He whispered softly. He never told this to Theta. He hated the way Theta took responsibility for everything that happened to him. He didn't want Theta to feel guilty.

"Koschei, look at me. You are not a tool. You are a star. You burn brighter than anyone I know. I know you can withstand this. You are so strong. I know you can get through this. You don't have to let them do this to you. This isn't right."

"I have to honor my house. I need to graduate. They could do whatever they want to me." Arkytior looked genuinely upset at his words. She reached her hand out to him asking permission to touch him. Koschei nodded and she slipped her arms around him, laying her head on his chest.

"My hearts, you don't need to do anything you don't want to. I want you to be happy."

"I can't leave him."

"Of course you can't, our Theta needs supervision." Arkytior teased Theta easily, making Koschei laugh. He slowly moved his arm around her waist.

"You confuse me."

"Do you want me to stop? I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"No, I- I don't mind. It's odd and confusing, but I like it." Koschei had never admitted how much he liked touch. It was not appropriate for time lords, especially ones with his level of telepathy. Arkytior never hid her mind from him. She was always open and trusting, even knowing the control he could exert over her. His telepathic skills made people hide their thoughts from him, but never her. She always just pressed their minds together, basking in the feeling of their telepathic dance. She trusted him in a way that he wasn't used to. He barely knew her, but he had an impression of her every time their minds touched.

"I'm glad. I never want you to be uncomfortable around me. You will be in Theta's life a long time. I have known you for what feels like my whole life. You're the husband to my husband. I love you no matter what regeneration, no matter what happens." Arkytior whispered and leaned up to kiss his cheek.

Koschei shook his head and held her a little closer. When she disappeared that afternoon, he missed her when she left. She pulled him into a tight hug, kissing his cheek before waving at Theta. Theta looked grateful that she didn't get so far into his personal space as she did with Koschei. Koschei wondered silently if Theta would allow him to step into his personal space instead.

Theta was different after that visit. Koschei couldn't figure it out. Usually he was the distant one. He was the one who pulled away and avoided confrontation. Theta was never like this. It made Koschei worry. It consumed part of his mind at all times even when he focused on anything else.

"Why are you avoiding him? Theta, you can't run from the people you care about." He hadn't even known that Arkytior was there. He leaned against the wall outside the room that had been all three of theirs.

"That is none of your business. You two can have your time together without me. I have just been busy." Theta sounded dismissive. Koschei could imagine the look on Arkytior's face. Her glare that pierced through him matched with the set of her jaw. She had glared at them like that before whenever they said something like a 'superior prick'.

"I am supposed to just sit back and watch you hurt him? Theta, talk to me! What is wrong?"

"While I hurt him?"

"Is it so surprising that he cares about you? That he wants you around? I know you don't like the word love, but-"

"What use are feelings when I am just seeing them directed at you?"

"Theta… Do you actually think that Koschei loves me more than you? Are you blind? He barely knows me!" Arkytior sounded like she couldn't believe what Theta was saying.

"He knows you well enough with all the times you two have your hands all over each other."

Arkytior mumbled out an alien expletive. "I forget that you are so young."

"I'm not a child, Arkytior!"

"I am not calling you one! Do- Theta, when I first met you, you were centuries older than me and so much wiser. I am having problems equating that man with this one. I am not calling you a child, but much of what you're worried about here we have already discussed and worked through."

"What do you mean we worked through this?"

"You're jealous of Koschei and I's relationship. I can't tell you why that is completely off base without messing with your future, but I can tell you that you are wrong. I love you both, but I am not here to get between you two. You are both my friends. Is that so difficult?" Koschei couldn't handle it anymore. He couldn't stand there and listen to them fight knowing he was the reason.

"You're wrong because she knows that I want to bond with you. I want to marry you." Theta and Arkytior looked over at him wide eyed at being caught. Arkytior immediately moved towards him, linking their fingers together so she could communicate her feelings. The powerful wave of reassurance and warmth burned through more of his nerves than anything else.

"You didn't need to defend me. If you weren't ready to tell him-" Arkytior was still trying to protect him. She couldn't tell Theta that she wasn't Koschei's future, but Theta's. She couldn't tell Theta that Koschei was married to her husband and she was already going out of her way to be a better person than Koschei ever could be. It was up to Koschei to tell him.

"I was never going to be ready. Now is as good a time as any. She came here for you. She came here because she is your future. She isn't here for me, but she still took the time to try and help me find a way to ask you." Theta still looked frozen in shock.

"Me? Koschei, your house wants you to make a political match. Why me?"

"Are you really that willfully obtuse?"

"No insulting each other when you are proposing!" Arkytior was teasing. Koschei felt it easily with the way their minds were connected. Theta flushed at the term used. Koschei reached his hand out to Theta waiting for him to take it.

Theta slowly took his hand, their hands connecting their minds together affectionately. Arkytior let out a soft laugh and pulled Koschei into a tight hug kissing his cheek before turning to Theta.

"I knew this would happen when I first got here. When I come from, you two have been bonded for centuries. I would never try to come between that, you dope." She shifted close and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, and Theta suddenly understood with the way her mind pressed against his at the quick touch. Bonding wasn't temporally bound. If you met your bondmate and touched them then you could feel the difference in their minds. Theta had always felt it with Koschei. It was why they didn't touch in their society.

"Well, I need to get back. I have a trip planned that my wife will be very cross if I am late for." She slipped out of the room with a wave. Theta looked at Koschei with a question written across his face.

"I know. She didn't want to tell you. She didn't want it to become a fixed point in your future. Somehow in the future you forgot to tell her to keep her hands off you."

"I must have remembered this. When did you find out?"

"Day one? The way she looked at you and the way her mind was reaching out for yours was proof enough that she was used to you being in her mind."

"So, what, a woman shows up who is obviously my future wife and you just accept it and befriend her?"

"No, but she asked if we were bonded yet." Theta chuckled softly at the mistake. Every time they saw her she seemed to have a different grasp on how to navigate being in the past. He often wondered how out of order their meetings were for her. Once they led her to their place and she seemed to not recognize it.

"My future wife will be at our wedding. That's new."

"She also said she was getting back to her wife, so either one of us regenerates into a woman or this marriage gets more complex in the future." Theta shook his head and tugged Koschei out of their place back to the 'real world'.

The next time that Arkytior showed up, Theta and Koschei were in the middle of a mind numbing meeting with their houses to work out their bonding. Arkytior didn't give the rest of their houses a second look when she drifted into the room sitting beside Theta.

"Finally planning the hand fasting?" She asked with a grin.

"And who is this?" Koschei's father sounded derisive as he looked over Arkytior and her clothing. She looked visibly out of place. When she looked back at him her eyes glowed in the same gold that she disappeared into the first time.

"Are you afraid of the big Bad Wolf?" Arkytior didn't sound like herself when she spoke. She started to set off everyone's time senses haywire. Koschei reached out to grab her hand. Her mind felt strange. The gold seemed to seep all the way into her mind. The love and affection that she usually sent to him was still there which soothed him a bit more.

"Arkytior, you said you wouldn't be back until our wedding." Theta tried to soothe the situation. Gallifrey wasn't open to outsiders. To put it mildly, the Time Lord's were narcissistic and elitist.

"I didn't know I would be, but the situation changed. You know how it is." She teased, caressing Koschei's hand softly. Theta's father sat up straighter at the casual touch. Theta moved his own hand to cover both of theirs soothing both of their minds affectionately.

"I do not think we have met, Arkytior?" Theta's mother tried to offer an olive branch between the woman and them.

"Arkytior is acceptable, but you will know me by a different name in the future." Arkytior seemed to soften as she looked at Theta's mother. She winked playfully at her when no one else was looking. Only Koschei caught the gesture.

"You're breaking temporal laws to be here. Why?" Theta's father looked curious, but Koschei's father still looked derisive. Arkytior took it gracefully. She looked straight at him and nodded.

"I am not from Gallifrey. I do not fall under the jurisdiction of your laws. You can not possibly understand why I am here. It's not up to me. I made a promise to time herself." Arkytior didn't sound like herself when she sat there. Her voice seemed to have an undercurrent of another voice that sounded familiar to Theta, but he couldn't tell where.

"You talk about time like a deity."

"Isn't she? Someone who can see all of time and space and guide our lives? That sounds like a goddess to me." Arkytior seemed to be at war with Koschei's father.

"My hearts, can you give us a moment. I don't want to bore you with politics." Arkytior smiled at both of them. Theta couldn't wait to get out of the situation, but Koschei lingered. He wanted to know more about Arkytior. He never liked leaving a puzzle unsolved and Arkytior was the biggest puzzle of them all.

"Come on, Koschei." Theta tugged Koschei away before he could catch more of the conversation.