Title: Appreciation
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Jethro Cane
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: R
Table: 1, fanfic50
Prompt: 9, Appreciate
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the Tenth Doctor or Jethro Cane. Please do not sue.

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"It's hard for me to believe that all the companions you've had in the past didn't want to stay with you," Jethro said, leaning back against the pillows and stroking a hand through the Doctor's hair. "They must have been barmy. Or just stupid."

The Doctor laughed softly, raising his head slightly to look up at his young lover. "No, they just didn't have the same sort of relationship with me that you do," he said, placing a hand on Jethro's bare chest. "Though some of them wanted to."

"Do you mean with you as you are now, or with your past bodies?" Jethro asked, feeling a little confused. He knew that all those pictures he'd seen in photo albums were the Doctor -- but it was hard to wrap his head around that fact.

"In the past -- and in this body, too," the Doctor said with a soft sigh, settling back into Jethro's embrace. "There were a couple of companions who wanted to be with me in a sexual way in this body -- but I wasn't the slightest bit interested in them."

Jethro wrinkled his nose; he'd seen pictures of both those companions, and he didn't blame the Doctor one bit for not being interested. "I'm glad you didn't bother," he said, hoping that he didn't sound as relieved as he felt. After all, it would be rude.

"I've had a few companions in the past -- in other bodies -- who I was involved with," the Doctor admitted, slipping one thin arm around the young man's waist. "But no one who I loved in the way that I love you. And before you ask, no, not even Jack."

"How did you know I was going to ask about him?" Jethro laughed, ruffling the Doctor's hair. "You must have been using your telepathy again." He felt better at hearing the Time Lord's words; Jack was still something of a thorn in his side.

It didn't matter that Jack was in the past; he was still close to the Doctor as a friend, and Jethro couldn't help feeling annoyed by the immortal's attitude whenever they went to Cardiff. He almost acted as though he owned the Doctor.

Jethro pushed the thought of Jack out of his mind; the last thing he wanted to think about while he was lying here with the man he loved was the Doctor's former lover. What the Time Lord had shared with Jack was over and done, in the past. The Doctor was with him now.

"I know why some of them left -- but I still think they were barmy. At least the ones who chose to leave," Jethro murmured, hoping that the Doctor didn't mind him bringing up the subject. "I don't think they appreciated the life you offered them as much as they should have."

"Maybe some of them didn't," the Doctor admitted with a soft sigh. "But they had lives that they wanted to go back to. Lives that didn't include me -- and people they loved. I couldn't very well have demanded that they give all that up for me."

"It wouldn't be like you to do that," Jethro said, his heart swelling with a wave of appreciation for this man. Anyone else might very well have expected those companions to stay with them -- but the Doctor was a singularly unselfish person.

"Some of them probably felt that I was the one who didn't appreciate them enough," the Doctor pointed out, raising a hand to trace circles around Jethro's nipple. "The ones who wanted to be involved with me certainly could have felt that way."

"That's true enough," Jethro conceded, wondering privately why the Doctor hadn't availed himself of that opportunity. Most men would have -- but as he'd already told himself, his lover wasn't just anyone. He was one in .... well, much more than a million.

"I don't blame anyone for wanting to be involved with you," he said softly, raising a hand to stroke the Doctor's hair back from his forehead. "Especially as you are now. You're the most beautiful man I've ever seen." He smiled as he added, "And an amazing person."

"Do you really think that?" the Doctor asked, sounding almost shy. "I think I'm handsome -- yes, I can be terribly vain sometimes," he said, laughing softly. "But I know full well that I'm not the wonderful person you may think I am, Jethro."

"That's not so." Jethro shook his head, his dark gaze meeting the Doctor's. "You've done so much for so many people -- and most of them don't even know it. But you don't want to be acknowledged by the world. You just .... do what you feel you have to do."

"Sometimes I would like to be acknowledged," the Doctor said with a wistful sigh. "It would be nice to be appreciated for all that I've done. It's happened a few times -- but you know, in most time periods, it's not safe for me to reveal who and what I really am."

"I know it isn't." Now it was Jethro's turn to sigh. "It's really not fair. Everyone needs a bit of appreciation now and then. And you do so much for the world -- you should be able to let people know all that you've done. You deserve that appreciation."

"It's something that I'll probably never get -- except from a few people." The Doctor tilted his head back, looking up at Jethro without lifting his head from the young man's shoulder. "It doesn't matter, love. As long as the people I care about know who I really am, then I'm happy."

"It doesn't take much to make you happy, does it?" Jethro said with a soft laugh, hoping that they could lighten the mood. "I hope I do a fairly good job of that. I try my best, that's for sure." He shifted his position slightly, turning onto his side and sliding his arms around the Time Lord.

"Oh, you do a wonderful job of making me happy," the Doctor told him, his voice husky. "Especially when you're naked in bed with me like this." He let out a soft gasp as Jethro rolled him over onto his back, his dark eyes widening as he stared up at his lover.

"I'd like to make you happy -- and show you how much I appreciate you -- right now," Jethro said, his own voice husky with desire. "That is, if you think you're up for it." He lowered his head to claim the Doctor's lips with his own in a sensual, lingering kiss.

"I'm up for any sort of appreciation you'd like to show me," the Time Lord murmured, winding his arms around Jethro's neck and pulling him down. Jethro smiled to himself, sure that by the time they were done, the Doctor would know exactly how much he was appreciated.

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