Frozen in Time

By Hazelmist

A/N: Written for the time petals drabble "new" and the winter bingo card (I basically crammed every winter/holiday adjective into 500 words, oops). This is one of my first forays into the DW universe, so please forgive my mistakes and feel free to point them out!

He brings her to a place where the sky is a brilliant white and the ground is a dazzling, sparkling blue. Hoary branches coated with shimmering ice bow beneath the weight, while flowers tipped with frost impossibly bloom and stretch toward the unseen sun.

"'s beautiful," Rose breathes beside him. Awed, she ventures into the winter wonderland and he eagerly follows.

They stroll through snow-capped firs, equipped with wool-lined boots and special insulated jackets from the twenty-fourth century. He talks about the planet's atmosphere, the snowstorms, the sun and the moons; but the facts aren't as important anymore as Rose stops before him.

The trees have thinned and they're standing on the banks of a frozen river. The moment life ended for this planet is captured vividly in the glittering arcs of water that will never flow or fall again. Not for years. If he peers through the glassy sheen, he can see fish trapped and preserved swimming upstream. Their scales are like sapphires and Rose stoops to stroke her gloved finger over the block of ice above them.

"When does it change?" she wonders, tilting her head up towards him. He doesn't understand her question; the word change always provokes too many ideas; dangerous, forbidden ideas. "Does all this melt one day?" She motions to the silent beauty around her.

"Oh, not for another two thousand years," he says lightly and squints up at the sky. "The sun dies," he tells her, "But one day it'll orbit a new star and then the whole world will start anew."

"It won't be the same though," Rose says, standing. They gaze around them at the evidence of a scene that was paused in a single second, and then lovingly caressed and locked in a breathtaking icy chamber for centuries.

"It won't be the same," he agrees and wraps his arm around her shoulders. Pulling her close, he wishes that he could freeze this moment between the two of them forever, like the world around him. He's been running his whole life, but right now he wants to stand still, just like this, for as long as possible. Rose sighs against his chest and his hearts flutter.

"It will change," he whispers and presses a kiss to her hair. "But it'll be new," he assures her and touches his lips to her brow, "and it'll be different." Rose tips her head back and looks up at him through thick lashes.

"'s not always a bad thing," she concedes and loops her arms around his neck

"No, it's not," he says, swallowing and cupping her rosy cheek. "Sometimes - sometimes it's better."

Rose smiles and suddenly she's kissing him.

It's something new, something different, something wonderful.

And for one blissful moment, they're frozen in time.

When he opens his eyes again, he's dazed and everything's changed. Rose is flushed and her breath puffs like smoke between them.

"Better?" she asks shyly.

"Much better."

He beams and tugs her in for another warm kiss.

A/N: Hope it made you smile! I think it's long enough to standalone, but if you think I should make a drabble collection I'm open to suggestions!