Title: Flames of Passion
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Giacomo Casanova
Fandom: Doctor Who/Casanova (Masterpiece Theater)
Rating: R
Table: VRD challenge - Orange, 5_prompts
Prompt: Logs burning in the fireplace
Author's Note: The character of Giacomo Casanova is based on the BBC version of Casanova starring David Tennant.
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 Giacomo Casanova. Please do not sue.

***

How long had it been since the last time he was here? the Doctor thought, propping himself up on one elbow in Giac's bed as his lover went to the fireplace. He didn't really know; he was only sure that it had been far too long. He wanted to be here all the time.

Of course, that wasn't possible, and he knew it all too well. Giac had a life that was separate from his own; he was a part of history, a celebrated man who would be talked and written about centuries after his death. The two of them couldn't be together on a permanent basis.

But he could have these times with the man he loved, and he could hold them close to his heart. It was the best that they could hope for, and though there were times when he wanted to rage against the fate that kept them apart, in the end, he had to accept it.

Besides, was it really so bad? Even if they were able to be with each other regularly, to see each other every day, live in the same place, would that make them both happy? Or were they really better off with what they had now?

He didn't want to ask himself that question; he wasn't sure that he would like the answer. It was always possible that if they could have more time together, they would find their passion dwindling, the love they shared losing its glow over time.

That was the last thing he wanted -- and the last thing that Giac would want, too. They wanted to keep their love alive, their passion burning as high as the flames that Giac was coaxing from the logs in the fireplace as he knelt in front of them.

He watched his lover as Giac slowly added more wood to the logs already in the fireplace, making the flames crackle cheerfully as the kindling caught. The Doctor let his eyes roam over his lover's body, his gaze devouring the sight in front of him.

Could any man possible be as beautiful as his Giac? He didn't think so. The curve of his back as he leaned close to the fireplace, the satiny sheen of his skin, the graceful movements of his hands -- they all spoke to the Doctor's senses in a way that nothing else could.

To say nothing of the beauty of that glorious body that was presented to his gaze. The Doctor's eyes lingered on the soft curves of Giac's ass, the slope of his thighs; he couldn't have pulled his gaze away from that beautiful body even if he'd wanted to.

Giac dusted his hands off, standing up and turning back towards the bed. The Doctor didn't say a word; he merely held his arms out to his lover, a welcoming smile on his face that was mirrored by Giac's own smile as he moved to the bed and sat down.

In seconds, the Doctor found himself on his back, wrapped in Giac's embrace, his lover leaning over him and brushing a few unruly strands of hair back from his face. "Do you know what you do to me, caro mio?" Giac whispered in soft, liquid Italian.

"I'm fairly sure that it's the same thing you do to me," the Doctor answered, his voice low and husky. "Every time I look at you, I'm reminded that I'm the luckiest man in the world to be in your bed -- and to be the one man who's always in your heart."

"There may be other people in my bed, but you are the only one who will ever own my heart, my love," Giac whispered, leaning down to press a kiss to the Time Lord's parted lips. "Even though we may not always be together, my heart and soul will always be with you."

"If only it could be different," the Doctor murmured, his tone tinged with sadness despite his efforts to sound matter-of-fact. "But then, if we could be with each other all the time, then we might lose the magic that we've captured now."

Giac shook his head, a smile curving his lips. "I do not think that, caro," he said softly, raising a hand to trace the outline of the Doctor's upper lip. "But perhaps absence does make the heart grow fonder, no? It certainly seems to work that way with us."

"I know that when I'm away from you, there are times when I can't think of anything else but being here, in your bed, in your arms," the Doctor whispered, a lump lodging in his throat as he spoke. "And then I have to rush back here to you, to know that you're still here."

"I will always be here, my sweet," Giac assured him, then sighed. "Well, I will be here until the day of my death. And even then, you know that my soul will always be with you. Wherever you go, my Doctor, you are never alone. Not while you are in my heart."

The Doctor nodded, trying to force back that lump in his throat. He didn't want to cry or feel sad; not now, not when he had some time with Giac that, with any luck, would be uninterrupted for at least a day or two. He wanted their time together to be free of worry.

This was his idyll, the time that he could take away from the world to be with the man he loved. This was his time to be selfish, to lose himself in the love that he knew was his to take and to hold close. He had a right to these stolen moments that he held so dear.

"Let's not think about anything unpleasant, my love," Giac said softly, echoing the Doctor's own private thoughts. "We have this time together now, and we should make the most of it. We should live in the here and now, and let tomorrow bring what it may."

The Doctor smiled up at his lover, closing his eyes as Giac's lips claimed his and the other man's hands began to roam over his nude body. His own hands moved to Giac's shoulders, then traveled down his back, his senses reveling in the pleasure that simply touching his lover could bring him.

Across the room, the fire crackled cheerfully in the fireplace, casting a dim light over the bed and the two figures entwined in it. As the flames in the fireplace dimmed, the flames of passion between them flared ever higher, burning brightly amidst the shadows of their silent hideaway.

***