Title: Please Don't Go
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Josef Kostan
Fandom: Doctor Who/Moonlight
Rating: PG-13
Table: 100moods
Prompt: 10, Bored
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Tenth Doctor or Josef Kostan, unfortunately. Please do not sue.

***

The Doctor looked up from where he was standing at the Tardis' console to see Josef staring at the empty viewscreen, a faraway look in his eyes. His brow furrowed as he watched his vampire lover, wondering what was going through the other man's mind.

What would possibly give Josef that dreamy look of not being quite here? Was he thinking of someone on Earth, someone that he'd had to leave behind and that he wanted to see again? The thought made the Time Lord's hearts clutch in his chest.

No, Josef couldn't be thinking about something like that. He'd assured the Doctor more than once that he didn't have anyone on Earth who held him to that planet. He wanted to go back now and then to get a supply of blood, but he didn't need anything more.

At least, that was what he said. The Doctor thought all too often that Josef might be bored here on the Tardis, bored with doing nothing but traveling in space and time. He was the kind of man who needed something to occupy his mind constantly.

He was almost afraid to approach the other man and sit down next to him; when Josef looked this dreamy and faraway, he felt that he was intruding on some private world that he had no place in. But he needed to talk with his lover, and this was a good time.

He'd felt for a while now that Josef needed something more than just traveling through time and space with him. This was a man who was used to running a corporation; surely he couldn't be happy to just kick back and do nothing, just waiting for their next little adventure to happen.

Slowly, the Doctor moved around the console, sliding into the chair next to Josef. To his surprise, the other man opened his eyes and looked over at the Doctor, reaching for his hand and twining their fingers together as he gave the Time Lord his full attention.

"I thought you were working on something," he said softly, his gaze riveted on the Doctor's face. "All done with it? Are we okay to head off to the next place we happen to end up in?" He smiled and tilted his head to the side, his look questioning.

The Doctor nodded slowly, swallowing hard and wondering just what he should say. He didn't want to be overly inquisitive and make Josef feel that he was being questioned or criticized, but this was something that he felt he he needed to know.

"Josef ...." He didn't know what to say, how to address this man, how to put his thoughts and feelings into words. Taking a deep breath, he tried again -- and the words came out more quickly than he'd expected them to. So quickly that he wanted to take them back as soon as they were uttered.

"Josef, are you bored with me? Do you want to go back to Earth, to your job, your friends, your life there?" The words weren't what he'd meant to say, but they were what was in the forefront of his mind -- and he'd always been good at speaking before he thought things through.

"What?" Josef sounded genuinely surprised, his dark eyes widening as he regarded the Doctor. "You think I'm bored with you?" The Doctor could hear the other man's swiftly indrawn breath, feel the sudden stiffening of his body.

Without warning, Josef dropped his hand and stood up, moving away from the chairs and past the console. He stood with his back to the Doctor, hands shoved in his pockets, looking down at the floor and not saying a word, though the Doctor could hear each breath he took.

The Time Lord closed his eyes, wishing that he could take the words he'd said back. They had obviously been the wrong words, and he regretted them more than he could say. But the damage ws done now; he only hoped that he could repair it.

He wanted to go to Josef and put a hand on his shoulder, but at the moment, he didn't dare. He had no idea what the other man was feeling, or what he was going to say. He wans't afraid of Josef, but he didn't want to start an argument.

When Josef finally spoke, his words chilled the Doctor's hearts. He was sure that they had stopped in his chest; at first, the thought that he hadn't heard them correctly, though Josef's voice was strong and firm, ringing out in the silence of the control room.

"Take me home," he said, the words seeming to hang in the air. "I'll be damned if I'm going to stay with somebody who thinks I'm so shallow that I'm 'bored' with them." He finally turned around to look at the Doctor, his eyes flaring for just a moment.

The Doctor involuntarily backed up a step, his own eyes widening. He knew that Josef wasn't going to attack him; the other man had promised that he'd never do anything to harm him, and the Doctor believed that. But that look was still a bit frightening.

"I should never have wasted my time with you," Josef growled, his voice harsh in the quiet of the room. "So sorry that I didn't live up to your expectations. Maybe you should just drop me off on Earth and find some simpering slut to service you. I'm sure that's more your style."

The Doctor's eyes filled with tears at Josef's words; he didn't blame the other man for trying to wound him after what he'd said, but those words hurt more than he could have imagined. He didn't want anyone else. He wanted Josef. He didn't want to lose this man.

"Josef, please," he whispered, taking a step toward his lover and holding out a hand. "I didn't mean it the way it sounded. I don't think you're shallow. It's not that at all. I just .... I worry that you might get tired of me. That you don't have enough to do."

"You think I'm so stupid that I need something to fill my mind every second of the day?" Josef laughed, the sound bitter and grating. "To hell with you. Just take me home so I can forget you exist. I don't want anything to do with you," he sneered, turning away from the Doctor.

"Josef, don't!" The Time Lord didn't know what propelled him forward, but in a split second, he was at the other man's back, grasping Josef's shoulder and spinning him around, seeing that incandescent, fiery glow in those remarkable eyes again.

He simply stared at the other man for a moment, then did the only thing he could think of to do. Words wouldn't express all he felt. All that he could do was take Josef's face between his hands and kiss him, putting all of his hearts and soul into that kiss.

He felt Josef's sharp intake of breath, felt him almost back away for a second before those arms were around him and Josef was kissing him back, their tongues dancing and darting, their bodies pressed so closely together that he could feel the vampire's heartbeat.

When they finally broke apart, he couldn't speak for a moment. Moving one trembling hand to Josef's lips, he traced the heart-shaped outline of the other man's mouth, trying to catch his breath enough to speak, to try and express the emotion that was filling his hearts.

"Don't leave me," he whispered, the only words that would come. "I love you, Josef. I don't want to lose you. Please don't go." Blinking rapidly, he rested his head against Josef's shoulder, hoping against hope that the other man wouldn't pull away.

"I'm not bored with you," Josef whispered. "I could never get bored with you. I don't need to be occupied every second. I've lived a long time, Doctor. Not as long as you, but a long time. I know how to keep from being bored. I've had a hell of a long time to do it."

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," the Doctor murmured, cupping Josef's face in his hands. "Please forgive me. I know I hurt you, and I didn't mean to. I'd do anything to make it up to you. Just tell me how I can, and I'll do my best to make it happen."

"I know how you can make it up to me," Josef told him, his voice dropping to a husky, seductive tone. "You can let me take you to bed and make love to you. That is, if you're up for the challenge." He raised an eyebrow, flashing that insouciant grin that the Doctor had come to love.

He didn't have to answer; all he could do was nod, moving away from Josef and reaching for the other man's hand. He headed for the hallway that led to their bedroom, his step firm and sure. Oh yes, he was up for the challenge -- and at the moment, there was nothing he wanted more.

That had been a close call, he told himself as they headed down the hallway. One that he wanted to make sure never happened again. One thing was certain -- he was never bored with Josef. Life with his man was unpredictable -- but he wouldn't have it any other way.

***