Title: Chance Meeting
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Michael Cutter
Fandom: Doctor Who/Law & Order
Rating: PG
Table: 100_tales
Prompt: 95, People
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 Michael Cutter, unfortunately. Please do not sue.

***

What in the world had happened here?

The Doctor knew that he should probably just pass by, but he was like humans in that regard -- he had a hard time seeing some sort of incident that stirred people up and not wanting to look and find out just what had happened. He blamed it on his insatiable curiosity.

There didn't seem to be much happening now, just a lot of people milling around a yellow-taped area and looking curiously at the police. The Doctor tried to hang back, his hands in the voluminous pockets of his trenchcoat, doing his best to be as inconspicuous as possible.

But apparently, that didn't work too well; as he was turning to leave, doubting that he would be able to discover just what had happened, a hand came down on his shoulder, holding him in his place.

"Excuse me, sir." The voice was clipped, businesslike, with a veneer of politeness in the tone. "If you could spare a few minutes, we'd like to speak with you."

"Me?" The Doctor turned to the man behind him, attempting to look as wide-eyed and innocent as possible. "I have no idea what happened here. I just stumbled upon it a few moments ago -- you were already here before I was, actually."

"It's our policy to question anyone around who might have seen or heard anything that could be useful to us," he was informed, the voice still sounding polite, but with more of an edge to it now. "It'll only take a few minutes of your time."

The Doctor sighed, nodding and turning to face the man. He hoped that there wouldn't be any questions that he couldn't answer; he'd found out the hard way that it was far too easy to land himself in trouble when he tried to be evasive. Dealing with the police was never easy, in his experience.

It wasn't as though he had a choice here, though. The man was looking at him expectantly, and the Doctor stared right back at him. He couldn't answer any questions until he was asked, could he? Of course not.

The officer -- if indeed he was that; he didn't look like any police officer that the Doctor had ever seen -- pulled a small notebook from his coat pocket along with a ballpoint pen, pulling the cap from the pen with his teeth and taking a moment to drop it into his pocket before he faced the Time Lord again.

Hmmm. Unless he missed his guess, this man wasn't used to doing this. In fact, he didn't seem as though he was sure of what he should say. The Doctor's brow creased in a frown, wondering just what was going on here. Something definitely didn't seem quite right.

"Sorry." The man's voice was apologetic, maybe even a shade embarrassed. "I'm with the DA's office. I'm not usually out here dealing with things like this."

"I didn't think you were," the Doctor said, wondering just why this man was here. But he was sure that he wouldn't find out; after all, he'd only be asked a few questions, and then he could be on his way. At least, that was what he hoped would happen.

"Your name?" The man's pen was poised above the notebook, his brows raised in question. The Doctor's mind raced for something that he could say, something that wouldn't sound suspicious. "John Smith" most certainly would.

"Only if I can have yours." What was he doing? He shouldn't be standing here having a conversation -- no, flirting, he was definitely flirting -- with someone connected to the police force. He should just answer whatever questions were put to him as quickly as he could, and get out of here.

The other man gave him a wry smile, then shrugged and held out his hand. "Michael Cutter. Executive Assistant District Attorney. And you are?"

"John Smith." The name came out much more easily than he'd thought it would; maybe he was just getting used to introducing himself by the human alias he'd chosen. "But you can call me Doctor."

Michael's brows rose again, and he looked surprised. "A doctor? I'd have expected someone like you to be in their office on a weekday. Not out walking around." He looked slightly confused, as though he couldn't quite fathom why a doctor would be strolling down the street in the afternoon.

"Oh, not a medical doctor." He was quick to try to reverse the wrong impression -- after all, he didn't want Michael to check up on his "credentials" and find that he had none. "More a doctor of .... life."

"Ah, I see." Michael wrote something down on the notepad in his hand, then looked up again, as though he wanted to ask another question. The Doctor tilted his head to the side, looking expectant, waiting for whatever the other man might ask him next. He just hoped it wouldn't be a question he couldn't answer.

"Are you .... free this evening?" The other man's voice was soft, barely audible to the Doctor, and certainly not able to be overheard by anyone standing more than a few inches away from them.

The Doctor looked surprised, then shocked. Unless he was badly mistaken, it definitely wasn't protocol for a police officer to ask a question like that.

"Yes, I am, but ...." Was this man asking him out? Or was he simply asking the Doctor to be somewhere for some kind of questioning? He didn't like the sound of that; if he met this man some place that he didn't know, there was a good chance that he might end up in a bad situation.

"I wouldn't normally do this, but ...." Michael sighed, glancing around and then taking a few more steps away from the few people standing near them. The Doctor followed him, curious to hear whatever he might have to say.

Whatever it was, it was probably something he didn't expect to hear. The Doctor wondered just what it could be that was making Michael walk away from the small crowd that was already dispersing; more than likely some request that he come to an office and answer questions. Which he didn't want to do.

When the two of them were a fair distance from the yellow tape delineating the crime scene, Michael turned to face the Doctor, standing so close that the Time Lord could feel the warmth of his body.

"I'm drawn to you," Michael said bluntly, his eyes meeting the Doctor's and not looking away. "I can't say why, and I know that it's not exactly good form to do something like this, but I don't care. I'm not asking you to meet me somewhere as a potential witness. I'm asking you to meet me for .... personal reasons."

Well. That had certainly been unexpected. But not unwanted, the Doctor thought to himself as he looked at Michael with wide eyes, quickly mulling over the prospect in his mind.

What could it hurt? After all, he could always agree to meet Michael in some public place. And this man wasn't someone who would try to kidnap him, or do anything to him, for that matter. He worked with the law. He wasn't some sort of criminal. And he certainly seemed trustworthy.

Of course, he'd learned from experience that people weren't always what they seemed. But he was willing to take a chance on Michael. Because, even though he didn't particularly want to admit it to himself -- and definitely to anyone else -- he was drawn to the other man, as well.

"All right," he agreed, glancing around to make sure that no one was taking notice of their conversation. "I don't know the area very well -- you'll have to tell me where to meet you."

"How about there?" Michael inclined his head towards a restaurant across the street, raising an eyebrow again. "We're right in front of the building I live in. I'd like to take you to dinner and then talk at my place."

Now it was the Doctor's turn to raise an eyebrow. Something told him that Michael had more in mind than just talking -- and if he was truthful with himself, he wouldn't mind that at all. But he wasn't going to make the other man think he was an easy conquest.

"Talk? I'd have thought you planned on more than that." His voice didn't sound breathless, though the anticipation was already nearly choking him.

"That remains to be seen," Michael replied, the small lines around the corners of his eyes crinkling when he smiled. "It depends on how we both feel -- and what both of us decide." He turned with a frown when someone called his name, raising a hand and nodding before he looked back at the Doctor.

"Until tonight, then. Six o'clock," he said, his voice full of promise, his gaze moving up and down the Doctor's body before their eyes met again for a moment. "I'll look forward to it."

"So will I," the Doctor answered, his eyes following Michael as the other man turned to walk back over to where they'd been standing before, already deep in conversation with an officer.

The Doctor moved away, keeping his eyes on Michael for several moments before he turned and made his way down the street with what he hoped was a nonchalant air. He was already counting the minutes until he would be back to meet Michael that night.

***