Title: The Truth About You
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Michael Cutter
Fandom: Doctor Who/Law & Order
Rating: PG
Table: 100_tales
Prompt: 78, Truth
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.

***


"You're what?"

Michael blinked at the Doctor as though he couldn't believe what he'd just heard. The Time Lord cursed himself for having blurted out that he was an alien before he could stop himself; that hadn't been the best way to go into this explanation.

"I'm an alien, Michael." He tried to keep his voice on an even keel; if he got agitated, then it would only serve to push Michael further away from him, to make his lover believe that he was insane. That was the last thing he wanted to do.

Especially when he was telling the unvarnished truth about himself, at long last. There would be no more barriers between the two of them after tonight, no more deceptions. He wanted Michael to know all that he could know -- well, at least all he could know in one night.

Telling this man everything about himself would take some time, but if that was what Michael wanted, that was what he would do. He wasn't going to keep anything hidden from his love any more. It was past time for Mike to have the complete truth.

If only that truth wasn't so hard to tell without sounding .... well, crazy. He could already see the walls going up; Mike didn't believe him, that was obvious.

But who would? Having one's lover say aloud that they were an alien would have to seem preposterous to any human. He was surprised that Michael's first reaction had been shock, rather than a shrug and a laugh, a complete expression of disbelief.

"I'm not human, Michael. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from a planet called Gallifrey -- in a galaxy that's far away from here. My home planet was destroyed in the Time Wars," he tried to explain, the words coming out quickly, tumbling out so fast that they almost ran together.

This wasn't at all the way he'd wanted to tell Michael about himself. But he'd done it now; he'd put his foot into his mouth, and was in the process of shoving in his entire leg, judging from the look on the other man's face.

"You've got to be kidding." Michael was starting to smile, shaking his head. "All right, this is funny. I know you're worried about my state of mind, but really, I'm okay. You don't have to make up crazy stories to make me laugh, John."

"I'm not telling you a story, Mike." The Doctor searched his mind for some way that he could convince Michael he was telling the truth, something that would at least make him stop and consider that what he was hearing might have some credence.

"Feel this." He took Michael's hand, carrying it to his chest and pressing the other man's palm against his hearts. "Feel my heartbeats, Michael. I have two hearts. I'm surprised you haven't felt them before -- but of course, you weren't thinking to look for them."

The expression on Mike's face couldn't be anything but shock; his gaze was riveted on his hand as he pressed it against the Doctor's chest, obviously stunned.

"You -- there's two heartbeats," he murmured, his eyes still on his hand. "How can that be? Nobody has two hearts. This is ..... this is crazy." He snatched his hand away from the Doctor's chest as though he'd been burned, his eyes wide.

The Doctor nodded, swallowing hard. There was no turning back now -- he could see the dawning of a kind of belief in Michael's eyes, those dark eyes that he loved so much. He only hoped that he wasn't going to see revulsion in those eyes as well.

"I should have told you before now, before we began to fall in love," he said softly, taking Michael's hands in his own. "I wanted to, so many times -- even before what happened. But I couldn't, Michael. I was so terrified that you would turn away from me if you knew."

"And you aren't afraid of that now?" Mike questioned, his voice low, with an edge to it that the Doctor hadn't heard before. "What did you think you could do, John? Spring something like this on me, some kind of congenital physical condition, and make up a story about it?"

The Doctor's mouth opened in surprise, but no sound came out. So that was what Mike believed -- that his dual heartbeat was due to some sort of physical defect. He didn't beleive that his lover was an alien; that was too much for him to wrap his head around.

Well, he would have to be shown the truth, then .He would have to see the Tardis for himself, to be given the proof that he was indeed involved with a man who wasn't of this Earth. Hopefully, he would be able to see the truth and accept it.

And hopefully, he wouldn't leave because of it. The Doctor could almost feel his insides twisting at the thought; he couldn't bear to see Mike walk away from him.

"Michael, please .... give me a chance to prove to you that what I'm saying is the truth," he pleaded, his voice shaking in spite of his efforts to keep it steady. "We have so much between us -- you can't just dismiss what I'm saying out of hand."

The other man leaned his head back against the couch cushions, closing his eyes and not speaking. But at least he hadn't pulled his hands out of the Doctor's grasp; the Time Lord realized that he was almost clinging to his lover, not wanting to let go.

"Once you see my ship, you'll know that I'm telling the truth," he said softly, not knowing of any other way to convince Michael of what he was saying. "Please come with me, Michael. Take a look inside the Tardis. That will prove to you that I am what I say I am."

"The Tardis?" Michael's brow furrowed, and he lifted his head to look at the Doctor again. "Your .... ship? Is that supposed to convince me that this isn't a joke, because you've made up some kind of elaborate fantasy to support all of this?"

The Doctor shook his head again, almost frantically this time. "Michael, I'm telling the truth! Please give me a chance to prove it to you. You'll believe me once you see the Tardis. You can't just throw away everything that we are without at least giving me a chance to prove it all to you."

Michael looked over at him at those words, his eyes narrowing. "I'm not sure if you're trying to lure me somewhere to kill me, or if you're actually serious about this."

"Kill you?" The Doctor blinked, his breath catching in his throat at Mike's words. "You can't honestly believe that, Mike. You can't. You know me. You can't believe that I would ever want to do anything to hurt you."

"I used to think that I knew you." Michael's voice was soft, regretful. "Now .... I don't feel like I know the truth about anything concerning you. Including whether or not you're sane. I just feel .... confused, John. It's like a complete stranger is sitting here next to me."

"Michael, that's not true." The Doctor's voice was choked; he felt that if he kept talking, he would break down in tears, but he had to convince Michael to come to the Tardis with him. It was the only way that he could make his lover believe in him.

"Please come with me." He knew that he was pleading, and that he probably shouldn't, but he couldn't think of anything else to say. "Even if you think I'm insane, Mike. Please. If you don't believe what I'm saying after you've seen the Tardis, then .... I'll go and not bother you again."

When Michael looked over at him again, he was surprised to see that there were tears in the other man's eyes. "Do you think it's that easy for me to lose you? Do you think I want to see you walk out of my life? I don't. I'm just finding this hard to swallow."

"Please," the Doctor whispered, his dark eyes meeting Michael's.

He couldn't say anything else; his throat seemed to close, refusing to let any more words through. All he could do now was hope that Michael would come with him; if he didn't, they were as good as finished. There wasn't any other way for him to prove the truth of his words.

The Doctor stood up, still holding Michael's hands in his. "Mike .... I promise, there's no ulterior motive behind this," he said softly, his eyes still on his lover's face. "I wouldn't let anything happen to you. I'd protect you with my life. You have to know that."

After a few moments, Michael stood up too, sighing softly. "I think I do know that," he murmured, his eyes still on the Doctor's face. "I'll go with you, John. For everything that we've meant to each other over the past few weeks."

"You won't be sorry," the Doctor told him, feeling his hearts leap in his chest and begin to beat more rapidly. This was the chance he needed; he could prove to Michael that he was telling the truth, and open up an entirely new world to his lover.

He headed towards the front door, pausing to let Michael pick up the keys from the hall table and squeezing the other man's hand.

"This is going to change your perceptions about the universe," he said softly, hoping those words would indeed be true -- and that he'd be allowed to share that universe with the man he loved.

***