Title: My Way Home Is Through You
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Michael Cutter
Fandom: Doctor Who/Law & Order
Rating: PG-13
Table: 100_tales
Prompt: 53, Home
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.

***

Michael looked around him at the empty apartment, blinking a little as he did so. Everything that he wanted to take with him when he and the Doctor left Earth was on the Tardis -- and truth be told, there had been very little to take with him.

Everything else that belonged to him was in storage, or it had been given to the Salvation Army. It hadn't really been anything that he'd been uneasy about parting with; he didn't spend much time doing anything except working.

Or so it seemed to him, at any rate. His off hours were usually spent looking over cases, or reading law books. Sleeping seemed to be the only thing he did with any regularity, and hobbies were few and far between for him.

Maybe John was right, he reflected as his eyes roamed over the bare walls that no longer seemed like his home. Maybe he needed to put this life behind him, and go out into the stars with his lover. Maybe that kind of adventure was what had been missing from his life.

Before he'd met John, he'd always considered practicing law an adventure, and himself something of a crusader. But after nearly three years working as ADA, he'd come to the reluctant conclusion that there ws still something missing.

He couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was, but there was an emptiness at the core of his life. An emptiness that had been filled when he'd met John, when he'd known that this was more than just a fling that would be over within a matter of weeks.

John wasn't going to be happy here on Earth, and he couldn't just let this man walk out of his life. As frightening as it was to leave, he really had nothing left here, did he? He was no longer ADA, and it wasn't going to be easy rebuilding his life.

So he was running away from it, he told himself with a wry smile. No, not really running away. He was starting a new life, filing away the remnants of this one and looking towards the future. A future that he was going to spend with the man he loved.

It was still hard to believe that his lover was an alien, someone from another planet, another galaxy -- even another time. Wrapping his mind around everything he'd been told wasn't easy, and a part of him was still struggling with it.

But he had to believe. He'd heard the dual heartbeats; he'd seen the Tardis. He had no choice but to accept what he was told as the truth -- even the fact that he was in love with a 900-year-old alien who'd had ten different bodies.

That was the hardest part for him to accept. This man could change into a different person when his body simply .... gave out? That sounded ridiculous to Mike, but he was reserving judgement. After all, everything else John had told him appeared to be true.

And if there was one thing he was good at, it was ferreting out untruths. At least, he thought that he was good at it; he'd done a decent job during his years in the DA's office. Far too short a time, and he hadn't accomplished nearly what he'd wanted to.

Really, he'd barely made a dent there, he thought with regret. But his name would be remembered, as one of the rebels of the office if nothing else. Mike sighed, thinking about what else he'd be known for. He'd always be the ADA who was kidnapped and raped.

That wasn't something he wanted to have hanging over his head for the rest of his life -- and it had been pretty well-publicized. It was better for him to get away, to turn his back on Earth and the life that he'd led up until now. To start completely fresh.

Where would they go? Did John have anything planned? Or would they just wander around the galaxy, his lover showing him things he'd never even dreamed of? Whatever they decided to do, he had to admit that he was looking forward to the adventure.

He jumped and let out a soft exclamation when he felt John's arms slide around him from behind; he'd probably always be jumpy about that sort of embrace, after what had happened to him. His heart was racing in his chest, his breath coming out in a gasp.

Instantly, John's hold on him loosened, and he could hear the other man's quick intake of breath. "I'm sorry, Michael," John's voice whispered near his ear. "I didn't mean to scare you. I have to remember not to surprise you like that."

Mike shook his head, raising a hand to place it over John's. "You just scared me for a second. I have to get over that -- I can't keep jumping at shadows every time somebody touches me. It's time for me to put all of that in the past and move forward."

Even as he said the words, he knew that it wouldn't be easy to do; it was going to take some time to put what had happened behind him. But having John in his life was already helping him along that path more quickly than if he'd been alone.

"Are you nearly ready to go?" the Doctor asked, resting his chin on Mike's shoulder. "There's nothing here any longer, Mike. We might as well leave and go to the Tardis. I know it's hard leaving your life behind, but .... the sooner the better, now that you've taken the first steps."

Michael nodded, his eyes sweeping around the room again. "I know. I'm ready, I just .... this was my home, you know? It's hard to leave so much of my life behind me. This has felt like home for so long that it's scary to finally step away from it."

He wasn't just referring to his empty apartment, and they both knew it. He meant his life here in New York; his job; the friends he'd made along the way. He'd be leaving all of that behind him, with no idea of when -- or even if -- he would ever come back.

The other man's arms tightened around his waist, his voice soft and husky when he spoke. "I know that, love. But you do have a home to come back to, people who'll welcome you back. That's more than others have had. You're lucky."

Mike felt instantly remorseful; John was right, he should be grateful that he still had the option of coming back to New York and picking up the threads of his life if he wanted to. The man beside him couldn't ever go back to his home.

What was it like, knowing that you were completely alone in a huge universe, that you were the last of your race? He knew that there was another Time Lord out there somewhere in the world, but for John to feel that he was so utterly alone .... he couldn't begin to imagine that feeling.

No, his lover wasn't alone, Michael told himself firmly. John had him; he wasn't going to turn his back and walk away. He was in this relationship for the long haul; John might not have a home to go back to, but they would make a home, together, just the two of them.

As though the other man sensed what he was thinking, his next words nearly paralleled Michael's. "I may not have a home in the technical sense, love, but they say that home is where the heart is. In that case, my home is wherever you are."

Mike could feel his heart swelling in his chest at John's words; in some ways, this man's way home was through him, and he was putting his hearts on the line by giving Michael his trust and his love. He was determined not to let his lover down, to keep those hearts safe.

"And mine is with you," Mike said softly, turning around to look at the other man with a smile curving his lips. "I made that decision already, and I'm not backing out on it. This is going to be a real adjustment for me, but I'll get used to it."

"You'll have me beside you every step of the way," the Doctor assured him, raising a hand to stroke gentle fingers down Michael's cheek. "We've come this far, love. We might still have a long way to go, but we'll walk along that path together."

Mike laid his hand over the other man's, entwining their fingers and squeezing his lover's hand. With another soft sigh, he looked around the empty apartment one last time, then headed for the door with a purposeful step.

"Come on," he told the Doctor, his voice strong and steady. "Let's get out of here. The sooner we get this new life started, the better it'll be for both of us. It's time we got on with our lives and put the past where it belongs."

Opening the front door, he held out his hand to his lover, smiling as they walked out of the apartment together. This was how it should be, he told himself; he was leaving his old life to head into a new one not on his own, but with a partner by his side.

He might not know where they were going, but he was leaving behind some good memories. And with any luck, they would find another home -- one that they could make their own, building memories that would be just as good as the ones that had come before.

***