Title: The Effect You Have on Me
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Ten.5
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 5, 12_stories
Prompt: 03, Kisses
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.

***

"Yes." The Doctor's voice was muffled, barely audible.

"Mmm." The human Doctor couldn't get any other words out; the Doctor was kissing him, making his senses whirl. The most he could manage was an incoherent sound, something between a moan and a sigh, that didn't sound like a word at all.

Strange that he didn't remember any kisses as feeling like this. He had all the Doctor's memories, so he could remember every person the Time Lord had ever kissed -- and he could remember what a great many of those kisses had been like.

But nothing had ever felt like this -- well, nothing that he could bring to mind. Those memories might be a bit fuzzy, but they were still there, and he could access them. Still, there was nothing that had been remotely this .... good.

Was that because he was kissing someone who was, for all intents and purposes, himself? That was almost an odd form of masturbation, really; sometimes he wondered if he would ever get over feeling that way.

Of course he would, he admonished himself as the Doctor's lips met his again. After all, it wasn't as though he thought it was wrong for him to be with the Doctor.

It didn't matter that others might think it was wrong. He'd already decided that this was where he belonged, and that there was no one else he wanted to be with. The Doctor was the one person in the world who could understand him, who could give him what he needed.

This couldn't be wrong. And as long as he and the Doctor wanted to be with each other, then they would be. The rest of the world didn't matter. They were outside of that, in their own little world, and they didn't have to justify their relationship to anyone.

He made another slight sound as the Doctor pulled away, opening his eyes to see the Time Lord smiling at him. He smiled back, feeling a little breathless. He was quite sure that no one else had ever made either of them feel like this.

"It's a bit strange to feel like I'm kissing myself," the Doctor murmured, reaching out a hand to trace the outline of the other man's upper lip. "There are probably a lot of people in the world who wonder just what that would be like."

"Well, you don't have to wonder. You know." Identical pairs of dark gazes fixed on each other; the human Doctor found that he couldn't make himself look away. There was something about the Doctor's eyes that mesmerized him.

"I hope it's something you enjoy doing," the Doctor answered, a question in his voice, one eyebrow arching as he spoke. "Because I certainly do."

How was he supposed to answer that? Maybe the best thing would be to tell the truth, even if he did think that being too enthusiastic might make the other man draw back from him. Ah well, wasn't honesty always the best policy, as the saying went?

"Of course I do," he began, trying to pick and choose his words carefully. "I was just thinking that there can't have been anyone else -- at least, not anyone I can remember -- who ever made you .... me .... feel like this."

Oh no, he was getting the two of them confused again. That was going to be inevitable; most of his memories were the Doctor's, and it would take some time and experience for him to have memories that were completely his own.

Though he had some now, he thought with an inward smile. Kissing the Doctor was one of them -- one of the first memories that would be completely his and not part of someone else's consciousness.

"No, there's never been anyone else who's made me feel the way you do. Especially when I'm kissing you," the Doctor said, a smile curving his lips. "As for other things .... I can say that you make my hearts beat faster when I'm around you."

"I do?" The human Doctor was surprised at those words; he hadn't expected to have the same effect on the Doctor as the Time Lord had on him.

"You should know that," the Doctor admonished him slightly, affecting a hurt look. "I'd like to think that I have the same effect on you. After all, I think we're enough alike for us to have a lot of the same feelings -- and desires."

His heart was indeed beating faster, especially after hearing the Doctor's last words. Was the Time Lord trying to tell him something, impart it without actually saying the words aloud? If only he had the other man's telepathic abilities, this would be so much easier.

"I know that we're as much alike as two people can be -- there's only the one major difference, isn't there?" The human Doctor reached out for the Time Lord's hand, placing it over his heart. "I only have one of these. A bit hard to get used to."

The Doctor nodded, his expression growing serious. "But being human doesn't make you feel any less. Actually, I'd think that it would make you feel more -- considering that humans are one of the most emotional races in the galaxy."

"Is that a bad thing?" the human Doctor asked, raising his brows. He didn't think it was, though he wondered how the Doctor felt about it. He'd been disconcerted by the fact that he was human at first, but he was starting to become more comfortable with it.

He couldn't change what he was, after all. The only thing that he could do was to make the best of what he'd been given. And he was doing a fairly good job of coping with his humanity.

"No, of course not." The Doctor's voice was sincere; one look at his face told the other man that the Time Lord wasn't edging his way around the truth. "I would rather have you this way than not at all -- and having an exact Time Lord clone of myself would be .... disturbing."

"So you don't object to my being human?" That was something he'd been wanting to ask the Doctor for a while now, though the time had never seemed quite right. Maybe this wasn't the best time either, but now that the question had popped out, he couldn't exactly take it back.

"How could I?" the Doctor asked, his voice soft and husky with emotion. "If you were human, then you wouldn't be .... who you are. I wouldn't change you. That would imply that I'm not satisfied with who you are, and that couldn't be further from the truth."

The human Doctor couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief at the Time Lord's words. He'd been a little worried that the Doctor somehow saw him as being inferior, only a copy, a cipher of who he himself was. It was good to know that suspicion wasn't true.

"And now ...." The Doctor murmured, tilting his head to press his lips against the other man's cheek, "-- I think we should get back to what we were doing. I don't know about you, but I was finding the effect you have on me .... very interesting."

"Oh, yes," the human Doctor breathed, settling back against the couch cushions with a smile. "Very interesting. And very .... informative."

"Informative?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow, looking curious. "Of what?"

"Of what it's like to kiss myself, of course," he replied, unable to resist the urge to wink at the Time Lord. "I think it's something you've always wondered about, and I'm glad that I could show you what it's like."

The Doctor actually blushed at those words, the telltale pink shade creeping up his throat into his cheeks. A thought flashed across the human Doctor's mind: Could he get the Doctor to blush like that in other places?

Hmmm. He'd have to do his best to find out, he thought, smiling as the Time Lord's lips found his again. He was sure that he'd have the answer to his question in a short time, and that he'd be happy with whatever he might happen to discover.

***