realmof_themuse 2009.24 - 7/12/2009

"The hottest love has the coldest end." Socrates

Her first love was of the stars.

Jackie had never much cared for leaving the flat. It was a lucky, fortunate day if Rose could tug on her mother's hand enough to persuade her outside for shopping, anything that brought her away from the four, stark walls and the monotone of the life that had happened since Rose's father died. Of course she didn't understand why, not in her young, child's mind, but understanding the reason didn't seem too important then. What mattered the most was trying to make things better, to make Mum smile again.

When that didn't work (and often, it didn't), Rose would sneak outside in the dark of night and look at the stars. She would lay on one of the blankets that she'd take from the linen cupboard and stare up at them for as long as she could, for as many hours as she was able. There was never any attempt to count them, that just felt silly and pointless, but she would lay there and look and wonder what else was out there, beyond them. Sometimes, she would think she could fly high enough to reach them and then wonder what would happen, being up that high. It was impossible to dance across them, of course, but that left something for her dreams to show her. Dreams were meant for the things that couldn't be reached with the hands, only with the heart.

More than twelve years later, Rose would be able to see the stars at a closer range than she had ever expected. But what she wouldn't have guessed at was how they would show her more wonder, confusion, mystery, and pain than she could imagine. Rose would never have believed she could hold stardust in her hands, sprinkle it in her hair and entwine her fingers with a man who carried it in his pockets.

The same man would become the love of her life, and later break her heart.

Muse: Rose Tyler
Fandom: Doctor Who
Word Count: 330