"That which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as sweet"

~ William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

He'd known it would happen one day. Meet someone with the same name as a previous companion. He just hadn't expected it to be her. Rose Tyler. He had felt something spark in deep in his chest cavity the first time she told him her name. And he hadn't counted on growing so close to her either…

Susan Foreman. Arkytior. His beloved granddaughter. Filled with the same child-like wonder as he, outcasts in their family, stuck on the same planet as he, until they had stolen the TARDIS together. Exploring the galaxies, eventually finding a small, out-of-the-way planet called 'Earth'. She had insisted on attending their 'high school' and of course he had given in to her. Looking back, he supposed that was one reason most of his companions were of Earth. In a roundabout way, Arkytior had ensured that. Earth was where his life had truly started.

And Rose Tyler. She had promised him her forever. A chance meeting; he blew up her job and she ran away with him. He had tried telling himself that she was just another stupid ape, but she wasn't. Underneath his snarky, hardened exterior, he found himself falling for her. Rose Marion Tyler. Defender of the Earth. Rose had healed him, psychologically, after the War. The Last Great Time War. He had walked away from his planet, only returning to… to destroy it. Coward that he was, he hadn't even had the courage to look his people in the eye before using the Moment to end the War. And then he met Rose. He didn't deserve her, not after the atrocious act he had committed. But somehow, she loved him back.

Rose Tyler. Arkytior. Two women he loved, two roses seared onto his hearts. Forever.