Title: Where You Belong
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Ten.5
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 5, 12_stories
Prompt: 5, Home
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.

***

The Doctor smoothed down the quilt on his bed, straightening up and casting a satisfied glance around the bedroom. He didn't often get the urge to be domestic, but when he did, he made sure that things were neat and in their proper places.

Looking down, he frowned slightly, then leaned over to rearrange the pillows. There. The bed looked very nice now, very .... inviting. He couldn't help but smile at that; he didn't sleep much, but his new companion did.

It was a bit strange, having someone with him on a constant basis who looked exactly like him. It was almost like looking into a mirror -- only this particular mirror walked, talked, and had opinions. Opinions which it expressed in his voice.

That was something he'd have to get used to. He'd known there would be odd occurrences in his life when he'd decided to bring his clone with him. He'd have to deal with them.

But so far, the pros of what he'd done far outweighed the cons. He enjoyed having the other man around -- they had their shared memories, of course, things that they could talk about and bond over. And there were so many new things out there waiting to be discovered.

Somehow, it had never felt the same with other companions. He'd enjoyed showing them all of the different places he'd been, all the wonders of the universe around them -- but this was different. This felt more .... what was the word. Secure.

It wasn't, not really. He knew that his clone was human, and that he would eventually age and die, like all humans did. There would come a time when he was left alone again, no matter how much he might feel that this was the companion who could stay forever.

There had been others who'd wanted to stay, but hadn't been able to. And some that he'd been glad to see turn their backs on his life and go, though there had been a residual sadness, if only due to the fact that he was alone again.

But this particular companion was the one he wanted to keep with him for as long as he could -- for the rest of the other man's life, if he wanted to be here.

The Doctor sighed, sinking down on the bed and looking around the room. Maybe it was silly for him to feel this way, but he wanted to make a home for the two of them. He wanted them to have soemthing more than the usual friendship he had with a companion.

Did that make him weird? Sick? Perverted? After all, the other man was literally a part of him. He wouldn't exist if not for the Doctor. They looked exactly alike. Was it some bizarre form of masturbation to be attracted to someone with his face -- or just incredibly vain?

Maybe he hadn't done the right thing by whisking his clone away. Maybe he should have gone along with the idea of letting him walk into a parallel universe, never to be seen again. But his own needs had taken precedence; he hadn't been able to let go that easily.

It was maddening not to know exactly why he'd felt so strongly about holding on to his clone. But there had seemed to be some sort of spark between them, something that had drawn him to the other man like the proverbial moth to a flame.

Attraction, yes. That had been obvious to him from the beginning, though he couldn't really say why. It was just there, something that he felt he had to accept.

But it wasn't just attraction. There was something more, a connection that went much deeper than the physical. Deeper than just being curious. There was a primordial bond between the two of them, one that he wasn't willing to turn away from.

All right. So he wanted to have a relationship that might be a bit .... disturbing to some people. Why didn't he feel shaken by that? There had to be a reason that it somehow felt right for him to be attracted to a man who was, essentially, himself.

He knew what Jack would say. That it was his vanity finally catching up with him. The Doctor had to smile ruefully at that thought, even if he didn't really want to give it much credence. Yes, he could be vain. But he wasn't that narcissistic.

Besides, as he'd already pointed out to himself, it was far more than just a physical attraction that was drawing him towards his clone. It was a meeting of the minds, a connection that he'd never found with any other being.

That was probably just because they were .... well, the same person. They shared their memories, and obviously their likes and dislikes as well. The Doctor made a mental note to ask the other man just how he felt about bananas at a later date.

They were the same -- and yet not the same. They had the same physical body, but he was sure that there were marked differences in them that would come out over time.

Did his clone feel uncomfortable about being here? Apparently not, judging from the way he had seemed to settle right into the Tardis as though he belonged here. Of course, he was used to it. The Doctor had to keep reminding hmself of that.

He was so used to the people who he made his companions being overawed by the Tardis at first, by all of this being new to them. It was a new experience for him to be with someone who found all of this commonplace.

The other man had always thought of the Tardis as his home, just as the Doctor had. Well, that made settling in a bit easier, didn't it? He wouldn't have any sort of uncomfortable phase where he had to get used to being here.

That could only be looked at as a good thing. The Doctor saw it as one more reason why what he had done made sense -- his clone belonged here, in a way that no one else ever had. He was a part of the Doctor's life, a part that he couldn't have borne to have torn away from him.

Of course the other man would look at the Tardis as his home. The Doctor certainly looked at his ship in that way, and his clone shared his memories. There was no question that he belonged here, that he fit in better than anyone else could.

It wouldn't take him long to acclimatize himself to living the sort of life that the Doctor led, either -- he already knew more about that life than anyone else, other than the Doctor himself.

Yes, this had been the right thing to do. The Doctor stood up, looking towards the door and wondering just where the other man was. Maybe he should go to the control room, see if he was there, and find out just what he'd been doing while the Doctor had been straightening up.

As if in answer to a summons, his human self appeared unexpectedly at the door to his room, a smile on his face. "You've been domestic today, Doctor," he said with a grin. "I wouldn't have expected that from you."

"There might be a few things about me that you don't know," the Doctor protested, a slight smile curving his lips. "I thought it was time that I cleaned up a bit around here. Now that I have someone to share the Tardis with me, I need to learn to be a bit neater."

Now why was he bothering to say something like that? This man would undoubtedly have the same habits as he did -- so he would already know that the Doctor wasn't the best housekeeper.

"No, there's nothing I don't know about you," he clone contradicted, leaing against the doorframe and shaking his head. "You forget, Doctor -- I am you. There's nothing you can hide from me. A bit of a sticky situation, isn't it?"

"Not really," the Doctor murmured, surprised to find that he meant those words. It didn't bother him that his clone shared all of his memories, all his secrets. Not in the least. In fact, to him, that made developing whatever attraction existed between them much easier.

"I feel at home here," the other man said, looking around with raised eyebrows. "In fact -- I'm rather more used to this room than the one I'm in. It feels more like I belong here."

"Maybe this is where you belong," the Doctor said, wanting to clamp his hand over his mouth as soon as the words were spoken. But it was too late to take them back -- they were already out there, hanging in the air between them and demanding an answer.

"Oh?" The other man looked amused rather than shocked, as the Doctor had expected him to be. Well, this man was a part of him -- maybe he'd known what the Doctor was thinking before he'd even spoken, he told himself. Anything was possible.

"Yes," he managed to say, wondering just what his clone was thinking. Well, what would he be thinking at such a moment? He couldn't really say. It all depended on the situation -- and this was one he'd never have thought he would be in.

"Time will tell if you're right about that," his human self answered, moving away from the door and turning to go back down the hall. "But I have the strangest feeling that you are."

"So do I," the Doctor managed to murmur, hesitating only a moment before he made his way to the control room after the other man, feeling as though his hearts were skipping a few beats and wondering just where their strange relationship was going from here.

***