Title: Iced
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Ten.5
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 6, 50ficlets
Prompt: 25, Frozen
Author's Note: The human version of the Doctor is being referred to as John Smith in this fic, since it's the Doctor's human alias and his clone needed a name.
Author's Note: Spoilers for Journey's End, somewhat. This is an completely alternate take on the ending of Season Four.
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 his human clone. Please do not sue.

***

Jamie sighed contentedly as he turned over in bed, snuggling next to the Doctor. It didn't bother him that the other man's skin was colder than a human's would have been; he had never been with a human -- at least, not anywhere other than in his memories -- so he didn't really notice.

Still, it was a little strange to realize that his own skin had that curious coolness to it now. He was so used to feeling that he was different from the Doctor in so many ways -- actually being a Time Lord wasn't all that he'd thought it would be like.

He was happy that it had happened, though; he couldn't deny that. There was something inside him that had felt frozen in place when he was a human, some integral part of himself that he'd felt he couldn't access, that he'd known would always be hidden away inside a human body.

Now that he was a full-fledged Time Lord, that part of himself had thawed out; he was more like the Doctor now than he had ever been. There were no differences between them in the physiological sense; he was exactly as his lover was, and he was glad to be so.

Did the Doctor miss anything about the human side of him? Did he miss curling up against a warm body, or was he glad that his lover was now cool to the touch, as he was? Jamie didn't want to ask; he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

If the Doctor missed some things about his humanity, that was only to be expected, Jamie told himself firmly. The Time Lord had gotten used to having a human for a lover. There were bound to be some things that he'd grown to like that he might regret were now gone forever.

But in the long run, he knew that they were both happy with the outcome. Neither of them had to worry about him growing old in human years, which would go by for the Doctor like the blink of an eye. Now they could be together forever -- or as long as they wanted to be.

How long would they want to be? Would they grow tired of each other at some point, and decide to go their separate ways? That was a thought that made Jamie's blood feel as though it was frozen in his veins, an idea that he never wanted to give any sort consideration to.

His body felt colder than ever the more that those thoughts moved through his mind; Jamie moved closer to the Doctor under the covers, wishing that their bodies were warmer and that he didn't feel so utterly cold, so frozen at the thought of losing the man he loved.

That wasn't going to happen, he told himself, trying to keep his inner voice strong and firm. The Doctor had said so many times that they would stay together; he wasn't a man to go back on that word once it was given. There was no reason to worry. None at all.

If only he could feel warm again! Those thoughts always made him feel frozen, as though that part of himself that had been encased in ice when he was in a human body, the part of him that was a Time Lord and that he'd thought he would never be able to access, had iced over again.

Jamie shivered, sliding his arms around the Doctor's slender waist and burying his face against his lover's shoulder. He didn't want to think about that; he was a Time Lord now, as he'd wanted to be since he first came into existence. Nothing of who and what he was remained hidden.

Well, at least it wasn't hidden from the Doctor, Jamie corrected himself silently. No one else might be able to see what he was inside, but the Doctor would always know. And his lover was the one person that he wanted to reveal all of himself to.

Jamie closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He needed to relax, to let that frozen feeling that had come over him at the thought of himself and the Doctor going their separate ways dissipate. He knew that it would; it might take a while, but that feeling would go away.

Slowly, gradually, he began to feel his body -- as well as his hearts -- warming, both outwardly and internally. Just being next to the Doctor, knowing that the man he loved felt the same way about him, gave him a warm feeling that he wanted to bask in.

The coolness of the Doctor's skin no longer mattered, and neither did his own. The warmth of the love in their hearts had long since melted that part of him that he had at one time thought would be frozen forever -- and he would never let it become iced over again.

***