There were things he should've been thinking about, of course. He should've been thinking about how wrong it was to kiss Romana, how his hearts would break when they left Taxon again. He should've been thinking about Rose, whom he loved and had constantly lied to since she'd arrived in Taxon. He should've been acknowledging that this couldn't be.

He wasn't, of course. His mind was reeling because he was finally kissing Romana. Hundreds of years of dancing around their emotions and he thought he'd never be here, right here, kissing her. And that, really, was brilliant and deserved his full attention.

He kissed her carefully, gently, as if afraid that he might break this; that the moment the kiss ended, the moment would be over forever. It would, though he had no real way of knowing that as he kissed her.