At the time of writing, the 2nd (new) series of Doctor Who has ended, which is really sad because I have to wait ages until the next one and there's a lot of hype over the new assistant and well, with Rose gone it's all very sad and well everyone knows that he should've confessed! Ooooooh, so frustrating and yet really very touching. Even thinking about it makes me cry. Anyway, this is in honour of the eternal being and his fleeting companion. (I couldn't actually write a Doctor Who fic, it would feel too weird. Also my first TRC fic! I felt it was more appropriate with all the worlds and stuff.) Syaoran is a little OOC right now but he'll go back to his usual, determined, protective self soon.

Also, I really need a beta reader, so if anyone's interested and has time, please let me know.

-x-

Alone With Time

By Louann1

Chapter 1: Time to Meet

He travels alone. He can go anywhere, anytime, and do anything. He has all the time in the universe at his disposal, with the power to have the same time pass him again and again. There's nothing that could possibly surprise him for he's seen it all. The destruction of planets, the depths of black holes, the rarest butterfly landing on the rarest flower, he takes the time to notice everything. He knows everything about everything and the things he doesn't know are the things that he searches for. It's not because he can; it's because he has to.

He stood with his eyes gently shut as if in rest, with his posture tall as if he was a soldier and without knowing where he was. However, he knew that he was perfectly safe for there wasn't any disturbances around the area. He could feel a sweet wind strolling past him and he was sure that wherever he was, was a pleasant place.

Before he opened his eyes he counted to five, and for each number he would predict something about his location. So, one, there would definitely be a row of white houses, two, someone would be walking a small dog (most likely to be a Chihuahua) down the road he was on, three, he would definitely buy a hotdog from the vendor that was going to turn the corner in five minutes, four, there would be a park filled with pink and yellow flowers and five, there would be someone right in front of him.

A serene smile crept onto his face as he opened his eyes to acknowledge the person who at the present time, was giving him a blank stare. He could see that the young girl before him was taken aback by his strange expression and thought that it would be best to tone down his gleeful looks and leave the young woman to get a hotdog from the vendor who just as he predicted was turning the corner.

" Sir?"

He turned back to face her. He looked at her up and down. She looked young, for a human anyway, and her light auburn hair seemed light and barely skimmed against her shoulders. As the gentle breeze ceased to blow she fully opened her eyes and looked at him through clear, bright green eyes. It was a strange kind of look that he hadn't really felt while being on Earth so he stayed put and waited for her next words.

" You are here, right? I'm not seeing things?" she spoke gently but he could sense that her words were full of worry.

" Of course you're seeing things. You have to eyes, don't you?" he gave her his usual enthusiastic look.

She didn't say anything, she didn't move, she only looked at him with a mixture of puzzle and nerves. As she was there motionless, he thought over what he had said and knew that he could've phrased things better.

" Is there a park around here?"

" A park?" she blinked a few times.

" Yeah, one with flowers and greenery."

She watched him kneel beside the fully bloomed flowers, inspecting every single one in turn, taking in their shape, texture and colour. She could see that he was honestly enjoying the arduous actions and somehow, she enjoyed watching him examining flowers. He stood up and casually walked to the wooden bench she was on and sat beside her with a look of annoyance,

" I was half right," he whispered to himself. " There are white and pink flowers."

She looked at him out the corner of her eye and still found herself to be a little wary of the strange stranger. There's a saying, 'if it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, smells like a duck, then it is a duck'. However, it can be tricky to separate ducks and geese. She was sure that he was a goose. He looked like a person, sounded like a person, smelt like a person (well… he smelt of roses) but she knew that he couldn't be a person. Why? Because she had seen him appear out of thin air.

There are just some days when you can't stay inside. It's like the world outside is calling you, and the only thing you can do is see what it wants. It was one of those days; the sun was shining, there was a gentle breeze blowing and she could faintly smell the scent of the park flowers.

As she was strolling down the road she heard an unfamiliar sound. It was like the rushing roar of a high speed train yet it was pleasant to hear. She thought nothing of it but found that as she continued the sound grew louder. There was no point in ignoring it as whatever it was, she was going to encounter it.

Just as she turned the next corner, she gave a slight gasp as she saw the faint outline of a man. By now, the sound had died down but the last rings of it were still in her ears. She cautiously walked towards him and found that the longer she looked, the more he looked solid. Once he had quite finished solidifying, he simply stood there with his eyes closed. She knew that this couldn't be happening. After all, how many times do you see people appearing as ghosts and 'tuning' themselves in so you can get a good picture? Not often.

For some strange reason, she found herself unable to walk away from the man who had just appeared. There was a strange curiosity to find out who he was. So she steadily drew near, making mental notes of everything about him. He looked young, perhaps he was just a little bit older than she was and yet there was something about him that seemed very mature. His clothes were worn but clean never-the-less and his hair was unruly, with strands sticking together and pointing in every direct. A part of her just wanted to fix it for him so she continued to get closer.

All of a sudden, his eyes flickered on and like a toy robot, he began to move. He gave her a friendly smile and all she could do was stand there frozen, just like he had done. Unsure of his openness she said little but addressed him nervously. Hesitantly, she walked with him to where he asked; the park.

So there they were, sitting side by side, in silence, waiting for the other to say something.

" So-" they both began.

" Um… You can go first," she rushed her words so that she wouldn't be the first to make conversation. How she hated that.

" Well, I suppose I should really explain myself to you, shouldn't I?" he made an attempt to fix his hair but it made little difference.

" I suppose it would be a start," she gave a small smile and thought about all the kinds of things that he could say.

" I guess I should start with the basics. My name is Syaoran, it's nice to meet you…" he gave her an outstretched hand which she took and replied,

" Sakura."

" Sakura, huh?" she nodded her head and he continued with his explanation. " I'm a traveller. I can go anywhere, any place, any time. For example, I could go back to when the television was invented or to the future when the universe is destroyed."

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. Here was a man claiming that he could travel through time and space. She had never heard of anything so ridiculous and yet, the way that he told her made her believe him, regardless if what he said contradicted everything that she knew.

" So why did you come here?" she asked one of the most reasonable questions she could.

" There's something that I'm trying to find and I got the feeling that it was here. That's all," she saw the look of disappointment on his face.

" Isn't it here?" she asked concerned. She could see that he had been searching for a long time as there was a tiredness about him.

" I really thought that it was but I guess not," he gave her a smile to show that he was alright. " I'll find it someday."

" What is it that you're looking for?"

" It's a secret."

" Won't you tell me?" Sakura pouted, a little hurt that this man would tell her all about himself and yet keep just one, small thing.

" I'm sorry but I can't. It's strange… I'm not sure if I can say this right but I actually don't know what I'm looking for. All I can is I'll know it when I find it," she noticed the strange look that appeared on his face.

Syaoran looked hurt. Honestly, truly hurt and Sakura knew that talking about things caused him pain. She saw the look of distress and couldn't help but feel sorry for him. It wasn't like pity, but it wasn't like deep condolences either. She simply tried to steer the conversation from what ever it was he was searching for.

If you could imagine everything, how could you describe it? The things that Sakura was told were unbelievable, she found it hard to think of the impossible and yet there was living proof in front of her that the impossible did exist. Syaoran told her of all the places he had been and all the wondrous things that he had seen and to be perfectly honest, he enjoyed sharing his experiences with someone else. How long had he been by himself? Too long.

Sakura listened eagerly to the exciting adventures that Syaoran had had and found herself wishing that she could have them. She had to admit, she wasn't the most enthusiastic person when it came to jumping into thrilling circumstances but the way that Syaoran told his storied made her want to be there.

Suddenly, Syaoran stopped mid-sentence to think. It had been just over a century since he had last spoken to someone who seemed to be so engaged in what he was saying.

" Syaoran?"

She snapped him out of his deep thought and he gave her a look as if to say 'I know something you don't'. The idea that he was about to propose was outrageous in every way and under the usual circumstances, he wouldn't have even considered it and yet to him it made perfect sense (in his own weird way).

" Will you come with me?"

" What?"

How else could she reply? He was asking her to go to someplace far away, where she didn't know anyone, or anything around her. She would have to leave everything that she knew, all of her friends and her dearly beloved family. It would just be him and her, against all the monsters, dangers and powers. She could leave and have her escapades or she could stay and live a remotely peaceful and happy life.

When you've got the entire universe and its dangerousadventures on one side and a blissful yet remotely uneventful life on the other, which one would you choose?