Title: Enchanted Garden
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Michael Cutter
Fandom: Doctor Who/Law & Order
Rating: PG-13
Table: VRD challenge - Green, 5_prompts
Prompt: Steps through the forest
Warning: ongoing story, past non-con
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.

***


"This is the kind of place that I've always loved spending time in," Mike told the Doctor as they wandered through an expanse of forest, hand in hand. "I've just never had the time to do that since I was .... well, since I started law school years ago."

"You should always make time for yourself, Mike," the Doctor told him, squeezing his lover's hand. "There's something to be said for quiet time, even if you're ambitious and you live your life trying to get ahead. Places like this speak to the soul."

"Indeed they do." Mike looked around them, raising a hand to shade his eyes from the sunlight that filtered down on them through the green canopy of the trees. "Look, there are some steps leading down. I wonder where they go?"

"Well, the only way that we're going to find out is to take a walk down the steps!" the Doctor told him with a laugh. Tightening his grip on his lover's hand, he moved towards the steps, looking down at them before beginning to make his way down.

Michael was right beside him, peering ahead of them as they made their way slowly down the tiered steps, careful not to slip on the grass that covered them. "I hadn't expected to see something like this here," Mike said, still trying to see what was ahead of them.

"Neither had I," the Doctor admitted, looking around them as they made their slow descent. "I've been here before, but never in this part of the woodlands. I didn't know that these were here. I can't help but wonder just what they might lead to."

"An altar consecrated to a pagan deity? A private glade that's perfect for a lovers' tryst?" Michael laughed as the Doctor glanced at him with raised eyebrows. "I was just trying to throw some ideas out there. I think either of those might be the right one, don't you?"

"There's no telling what we'll see until we get there," the Time Lord said with a soft laugh. He took another step downwards, then stopped in his tracks, looking at the green canopy of leaves above them, a smile on his lips as he contemplated their location.

"You know, this almost feels as though we're .... well, walking down an aisle to an altar," he said softly, turning to look at Michael. "So either your idea of a pagan deity's worshiping place is spot-on, or we're heading for something that we may not want to see."

"What, you don't think I'd want to see myself married to you someday?" Mike asked, gently squeezing his lover's hand. "I can definitely see that happening for us. I'd marry you in a heartbeat, you know. I feel like we're practically married already."

"I would marry you," the Doctor said softly, his voice barely audible. His intense gaze didn't leave Mike's face; it was as though he was trying to look directly into his lover's soul. "All you would have to do is ask me. And I know what the answer would be."

"Then let's keep going down these steps and see what we might find," Michael told him, his own voice husky with emotion. "If we find what I think we might .... then be prepared for a surprise." With those words, he turned to head down the steps again.

The Doctor followed his lover, his mind reeling from the words that Mike had just said. Could it be possible that his boyfriend had actually thought of the two of them getting married? He hadn't thought that the idea could have crossed Michael's mind.

What would it be like to be married to this man? he thoughts, casting a glance at Mike through his lashes as they made their way down the tiered steps. It wouldn't be much different from the life they led now -- but they would be bound to each other irrevocably.

They would have a Gallifreyan bonding, as well as a wedding, he told himself, letting his mind drift off to thoughts of what their joining would be like. Would Michael's friends from his former job come to see them married? He wasn't sure if that would pose a problem or not.

But what did it matter? he told himself. Mike hadn't asked him -- and there was no guarantee that he would. Still, if the question was posed to him, he knew exactly what his answer would be. It was the only answer that he could possibly give.

The steps were getting shallower now; the Doctor was sure that they were coming to an end. All at once, the steps seemed to fall away, coming to an end in a place of such beauty that the Doctor could only stand and gape at the sight in front of him.

The trees arched high overhead, forming a delicate green canopy above them. There was indeed an altar there, though whether it was consecrated to some pagan goddess, he couldn't say. The glinting rays of the sun illuminated the grove, turning it into a place of enchantment.

There were pink and black marble benches around them, as well as an altar fashioned from the same marble. The air was warm, the atmosphere still and hushed, as though this place had been waiting for the two of them to enter it and pledge their love to each other.

Scents mingled in the air around him, each one just as sweet and pungent as the other. The profusion of flowers that populated the enchanted garden they found themselves in swayed in the slight breeze, releasing their sweet perfume to encircle the two men in their midst.

The Doctor stood still as Michael sank to his knees in front of him, still holding his hand. His dark eyes widened when his boyfriend raised his hand to those soft lips, kissing his fingertips gently before looking up at him with an adoring expression in his eyes.

"Doctor ...." Michael's voice was soft, his words seeming to hang in the air. "Will you marry me?" His gaze was riveted on the Doctor's face; the Time Lord could tell that his lover was holding his breath, as if he was unsure of what the answer would be.

There was only one answer he could give. Only one answer that could possibly answer that question. His hearts were singing, jumping up and down in his chest in a dance of joy that he couldn't possibly put into words. But then, he only needed to say one word.

That word came easily to his lips; he had thought that his voice would sound choked with the intensity of the emotions he felt, but it was as clear as a bell in the still, quiet air of the enchanted garden that they'd wandered into. "Yes."

***