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The Doctor’s backyard had only one tree.
Theta and Koschei stumbled over their feet as they raced each other to the same tree. Koschei had pushed the other boy to the ground and for a brief moment he thought he had hurt him, but Theta grabbed his friend’s wrist and pulled him down too. It’s a scramble as they both get up and get pushed down again. The game was violent, in an innocent, child-like way.
The sky was dimming as one sun had already set, leaving the smaller one alone to light the sky by itself. The golden light reflected off the white leaves of the tree as—
“Beat ya!” Theta exclaimed, hitting the tree trunk with a force just a little too strong. He shook off the pain in his hand with a wince. “Told you, I would!”
“I let you win,” Koschei insisted.
The squabble would have gone on forever if Theta’s parents didn’t wave them to come inside. They supposed it was getting dark, but they’d rather not have to put on the burden of their duties this early in the evening. They were only children, after all. One couldn’t blame them for acting like children.
The academy was all gold and silver and metal. The students were told to cover up most of their skin, wear gloves at all times and to never enjoy the types of physical contact they had when they were younger, now that they were learning touch telepathy. Theta and Koschei still got to enjoy each other’s company, rooming together, but during class hours they had to abide by the rules. Strict rules, too. It was hell for the two of them the first few years there, but they wouldn’t be Theta and Koschei if they were bound by such things for long. Soon they were sneaking out after hours and going down to the river, stealing time manipulators and giving themselves an hour or two before classes to do whatever it is they wished—not long in Time Lord standards, but they were not regular Time Lords.
Sometimes they’d visit that tree in Theta’s old backyard. They’d draw in the dirt like they were children again, climb trees and tickle each other and take off those damn gloves and damn the Time Lords and fuck the rules, these two were alive now—
But then their time would run out—the day would end, or the time capsule would collapse and the day would begin—either way, they had things they had to do.
They were braver than most of their classmates (well, their classmates would describe them as stupid or a nuisance, but they believed it was bravery) and they would even hold each other’s arms in class, sleep in the same bed at night and even have skin-to-skin contact from time to time. Fingers brushing, doing each other’s hair and holding hands gloveless were a few of the small rebellious acts they did every day.
Eventually, their rejection of authority by actions had inspired a few others to do the same, and so they formed a group. They called themselves The Deca, and they all disliked the way the Time Lords ran their school, and the world—however, all for different reasons.
It was quite a ragtag bunch, but it was what Theta and Koschei had, and they enjoyed having more people in their life to talk to.
One evening, after classes and after both the suns had set and the golden stars filled the sky, Theta and Koschei were down by that same tree again. They wanted away from school, from bullies, and yes—also from their friends. Ushas was brilliant, but she was also uptight and needlessly cruel. No, these two needed somewhere for just the two of them. Which is almost always the river or the tree.
Koschei was swinging from the rose covered vines dangling from the tree. Just a gentle sway back and forth. He let his bare feet rest in the wet, red grass below. He stared as the dew dropped from the blades of grass, watched as the thick gravity of Gallifrey pulled everything towards itself…
Theta was looking up at the stars as he walked from one side of the backyard to the other. He was deep in thought and yet looked as if there wasn’t anything behind his eyes. It was unnerving to most, but Koschei had grown used to them. His eyes were the same colour of the grass and dew, like a glassy red. Theta had stopped his walking naturally and leaned against the other side of the tree.
“Do you ever think about…” Theta began. He let out a sigh and shook his head. “Forget about it.”
Koschei stopped his swaying. “What?” When he got no answer, he hopped out of his swing. “Seriously, what is it?”
“Just…” Theta hesitated again. “Just… do you ever think about what we’re gonna do once we graduate? There just…you know. Isn’t much excitement in the life my father keeps telling me about.”
“Yeah,” Koschei said. “The life of a Time Lord. Isn’t very good, is it? Having to wear those high collars all the time—and those damn gloves!”
“Right?” Theta said as he laid himself down into the grass. Koschei made a sound of disgust, but his friend only laughed. “Oh, come on, it’s not that wet!”
“I’ve been staring at it for hours,” Koschei said. “It most certainly is.”
Theta patted the spot beside him and Koschei couldn’t argue anymore. He lay down beside his friend and watched his expressions as he stared up at the sky. Theta was enthralled with the night sky, with the stars, with everything otherworldly and different and new. It always made Koschei’s stomach drop, knowing he has never been new or exciting or different. Just there. Always there. Koschei slid his hand into Theta’s, hoping that if he held tight enough, he wouldn’t go. Theta batted his white eyelashes at him, which earned him a punch to the arm and an affectionate, “Idiot…”
The sky had turned a darker shade, completely black, letting the stars shine brighter. Theta always loved to look at the sky from his own backyard where he could see the auroras. Pink, blue, yellow, practically every colour that Gallifreyans could see was in that sky. And tonight was no different. The auroras bloomed and Theta’s eyes widened, still awestruck by the same sight he had seen for a hundred years over. Koschei understood, as he saw the lights reflecting in his friend’s eyes.
“Kos,” Theta said, eyes still staring up at the stars.
“Yeah?”
“I know what we should do after we graduate,” Theta said. He squeezed Koschei’s hand tighter and pointed to the sky with their intertwined hands. Awkward, but sweet. “We should see every star. Just you and me. Together.”
Koschei broke out into a wide smile. Theta didn’t want to leave him behind for a whole new world, but instead wanted to bring him along. “I thought you might take a TARDIS and go without me, you know.”
Theta’s face paled in shock as he finally looked at him. “What? When would I ever—!?” he spluttered for a few moments before regaining his thoughts. “What point is travelling and seeing the universe without someone to see it with me?”
“You can’t fly a TARDIS anyway,” Koschei teased, uncomfortable with the vulnerability he induced. “You’re failing all your flight tests—who knows how you’ll score on the final exam.”
“I’ll score fine,” Theta said. “It really doesn’t matter, anyway, because you’ll be the one flying it. You’re coming with me and you do not get a choice in the matter!”
Koschei couldn’t help but grin again. He turned on his side and hugged his friend tighter than necessary. “Promise?”
Theta returned the embrace emphatically. “Promise.”
Once, they made the mistake of inviting someone else along for their activities. This time, by the river. It was still close enough to see Theta’s house from there, but far enough not to cause any disturbances from being too loud. Millenia and Rallon had tagged along with them. They were both used to the sight of Theta and Koschei without their gloves, but when the two of them began taking off their shoes and rolling up their sleeves and throwing each other into the water—all and all just acting like animals—Rallon and Millenia had called it quits. There was a sharp scolding from Rallon and Millenia just looked at them with pity in her eyes as she made her way back to the citadel, following a fuming Rallon.
Theta wailed out a scream of frustration and splashed the water aggressively as soon as they were out of sight. It startled Koschei for half a moment before he remembered. This is how Theta just got sometimes.
“I hate this stupid—! Stupid!” Theta was hitting the sides of his head with balled up fists. “This stupid, stupid planet! I hate it so much!”
“Stop doing that, Thete,” Koschei said, a little scared. He waded through the water to get closer to him. “Look. They’re just…not ready, yet. I’m sure they’ll learn to see past it.”
Theta growled, somehow his frustration getting worse from that comment. “See past it?” he mimicked. “See past it?! Koschei, I don’t want them to see past it! This is a part of who I am! I just—I just want them to—to like me, Kos.”
Koschei held onto Theta’s shoulders and bumped his forehead against his gently. “They will. They do. And if they stop, then they’re idiots. Okay?” He wondered if he said it more for himself or for his friend.
Koschei had projected enough calm into Theta’s mind for him to settle. “okay.”
The bullying at school was growing far too intolerable. Time manipulators used to force Theta into a full day cycle time loop as a prank was horrific, but commonplace. Throwing Koschei into the bookshelves was a regular occurrence. Yelling in the corridors was normal, and friends no longer associating with them because of all the torment was also normal. It was then back to Theta and Koschei. Just the two of them facing their bullies day after day. There was one that was particularly bad: Torvic. Due to his strong size and status in the school, it was hard to fight back. So, they didn’t. When Torvic would give Theta a black eye, Koschei would bandage him up after. When Koschei would get kicked in the ribs, Theta would tend to his wounds. They never fought back, just dealt with the aftermath. It was basically torture. But the two of them had their own ways with dealing with it. Koschei had gotten a lot stronger in his mental capacities (as if he wasn’t a natural already) and Theta had a near encyclopedic knowledge on maps and star systems. They were getting better at what they could (Koschei being the more intelligent of the two) but Theta was getting more impatient.
There were times Koschei wasn’t sure if Theta had up and left him and came back a few years older in between classes. Something had changed in Theta, and he couldn’t tell if it was him growing up or if something had actually happened to him. It was unnerving, and he was terrified that he’d be left behind, but he reminded himself of Theta’s promise and it calmed him down.
Although, Theta is taking a lot longer than usual to get back to the library. He was supposed to come here around 14:00, but it was already 15:20…
“Ey,”
Koschei jumped and turned to see Torvic leaning against one of the shelves. He was twirling a peculiar object in between his gloved fingers, and the sharp smile on his face made it clear it was yet another torture device for him to use.
Torvic noticed the way Koschei’s eyes turned to it and he laughed. “Oh, so you saw. Well, do you want me to try it out on you?”
Koschei weakly shrugged. “I don’t get much choice in the matter, do I?”
“No, you don’t,” Torvic agreed. “I’m glad you understand that now, Oakdown. You’re much smarter than your friend, you know.”
“I know,” Koschei said. To what friend he was referring to was obvious; his only friend, Theta. “So, you gonna use that rod of death-thing on me or not?”
Torvic flipped it in his hand and pointed it towards Koschei. “Well, since you’re begging for it—”
And in an instant, Koschei fell to the ground, clutching at his head in a desperate attempt to stop the pain. It was as if Koschei’s mind was being opened, like unfolding paper. It was so disorienting for him, as his mind is the strongest of the academy—no one could pierce it without his direct permission—which made him wonder for half a moment what sort of device could weaken him so easily. His legs began to ache. His head felt like it was going to split in half, his breathing was nonexistent and his entire body was jolting and shaking like an electric pulse was forcing its way through him. He couldn’t hear anything, it was completely silent, but he could still remember what Torvic’s laugh was like, and he could imagine it clearly. He half-heartedly wondered if he was regenerating as he felt pain worse than breaking every bone at once. Then—it had all stopped. His hearing was still muffled but he could make out the distant touch of Theta’s arm holding his shoulders and something so shrill and loud he could still hear it despite it all.
“I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!”
It was unclear who said what. Koschei blinked his eyes open and saw Torvic gone, and Theta kneeling beside him. “What…”
“You’re alright, I got you,” Theta said, helping him up to a sitting position. “That—that beast ripped your mind open. Anyone could have attuned to it and could have broken your mind forever. I—stars, Koschei, are you okay?”
Koschei shut his eyes and checked around his mind, trying to find anything that felt off or as if it didn’t fit, but he didn’t find any. “I think so,” he said. “Most of the pain is gone. Just, uh… a little disoriented.”
“Do you want me to help you get back to our room?”
“That would be wonderful, thank you.”
Some would say it was unexpected, but Koschei had seen it all and he had seen how much Theta was changing.
It was just another day at first. The two of them had gone to class, made it back to their room, climbed out the window and made their way down to the river again. They were still basically children by Time Lord standards, so they used it as an excuse to play around and race each other and hold hands and get undressed by the bank.
It was a humid evening, the second sun had yet to set and Theta and Koschei were splashing about in the water. Laughter and smiles and joy and glee—all of it experienced by these two children, playing in the same river by the same tree all their life.
“Well, look what we have here,” they heard Torvic’s voice from the other side of the water. “You’re not too good at hiding your tracks, you know.”
“Yeah, because we’re not hiding,” Koschei said. This angered Torvic, however, and he waded through the water towards him. He wasn’t armed and he didn’t have another one of his devices, so Koschei’s nerves were eased a little. That is, until his head was submerged under the water.
He was drowning him. Torvic wouldn’t have killed him, most likely, but he was pushing it to the limits. Theta was watching, as he usually did, as Koschei usually did. Never interfering, just dealing with the consequences.
But this was their river, this was their evening. Theta walked over to them, stepping evenly and with a purpose. He had only stopped to pick up a large stone.
Koschei couldn’t see the gory details from under the water, but he could still tell what happened. Theta pulled his friend out from under the water and they both stared at Torvic’s concave skull. His blood flowed into the river, turning the blue waters as red as the grass, and as red as Theta’s hands and face.
Theta was still in shock, so Koschei was the one to gather most of the fire wood to burn their bully’s body. He was a bully, yes, he was torturing them, yes, but he was also just a child. And then he was gone. All potential for life and good deeds and bad choices and wrong decisions and new experiences all severed right there. Where the rock sits instead of his head.
In the end they had burned him together, and they watched the flames as they held each other’s hands, and they vowed to never speak of it again.
They never returned to that river.
It was early morning, one of the days they decide to leave before their classes as opposed to after. Koschei was high in the tree, dangling his legs from a thick branch. He had a book in his hands but he wasn’t focused on reading it, too focused on upcoming events.
Theta was in the branch just beside and a little lower, perfect height for him to rest his head against Koschei’s thigh. He was braiding some twigs together and eating any of the blue leaves that had fallen off in the making. He looked much more relaxed than he should, considering the circumstances, and that only made Koschei’s hearts race.
Their graduation was almost here, and it was anxiety inducing and stressful and everything that graduation should be. Why was he so certain it would end up going wrong?
Koschei wasn’t sure if Theta would fulfill his promise anymore. Once they graduate would they see the stars? Would they go together or is Theta just going to leave him? With a potential arranged marriage already speculated among Theta’s family members, he isn’t sure anymore. Theta had changed so much since he made that promise, and Koschei had already lost too many friends—Theta was the only person who’s stuck by him all this time.
He pretended to read the page and then turned it, and then turned the next one and the next, a little too quickly. Theta perked up when he noticed. Theta always did notice, just always a little too late.
“Something wrong, Kos?” he asked, so innocently. He was anything but, wasn’t he?
“I was just thinking about how there’s going to be a last time we do this,” Koschei said, plainly and straight to the point. He wasn’t going to dance around it like Theta did, or keep it to himself like he did when he was young. “Last time we sit in this tree together.”
Theta nodded. “Yes, it is an old tree…”
“And a last time we hold hands,” Koschei continued. “And a last time you shorten my name like that.”
“I…” Theta bit at his lip. “What’s got you so sentimental?”
“I’ve always been sentimental,” Koschei said. “You just take too long to notice.”
“I guess so?” Theta said. He tried to continue the braiding but he just felt sick to his stomach. “We already know that things end, so why are you saying this?”
“Because…” Koschei looked into his dearest friend’s eyes. The glassy red ones like dew on grass, the ones that reflected the entire night sky, the ones that seem dim and lifeless whenever he’s lost in thought, the ones that he’s seen more than any other. He’ll see those eyes for a last time. One day he’ll wake up, and Theta would be gone, regenerated a dozen times over and those eyes would be lost.
Koschei felt the early morning wind on his face and could hear it rustle through the tree. He could smell the pollen from the only newly blossomed flowers. He watched an insect fly from here to there, seemingly at random. He felt the red bark of the tree against his bare hand and he smiled.
“Because it’ll end sooner than I thought.”