Title: Eye of the Beholder
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Ross Jenkins
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: R
Table: 4, 50ficlets
Prompt: 13, Body
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 Ross Jenkins, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Ross turned over on his side to look at the Doctor, propping his head on one hand and smiling at his lover. He didn't know if the Doctor felt the same way, but it seemed to him that every time they made love, it got better and more intense.

He'd never had a lover like the Doctor, someone who gave themselves fully and completely in every way with every encounter. No one else had ever taken him to the heights that the Time Lord did; the two of them were perfectly matched in the physical sense.

And in other ways, as well, Ross thought as he reached out to push a few errant strands of hair back from the Doctor's face. Their hearts and souls were in unison, not only their bodies. The two of them were a team, unbeatable and unbreakable.

"What are you thinking of, love?" the Time Lord asked him, his voice soft and husky. "You look so serious, as if you've got something on your mind." He reached out to place a hand on Ross' cheek, his fingertips stroking over his young lover's soft skin.

"I was thinking about us, and how perfect we are for each other," Ross murmured, catching the Doctor's hand in his own and bringing it to his lips. "I was thinking about how every time we make love, it gets more intense. It's like we're building a fire that keeps getting hotter."

"I certainly can't argue that!" the Doctor said with a soft laugh as he reclined back against the pillows of their bed. "But I think that's because you bring out a side of me that no one ever has before. Because I trust you in a way that I've never trusted another lover."

Ross ran a gentle hand over the Doctor's bare shoulder, then down the front of his body, letting it rest on the other man's hip. "You're so beautiful," he said softly, his gaze following the movement of his hand. "You have the most gorgeous body I've ever seen."

"I'm glad you met me when I'm in this body," the Doctor said softly, his gaze not leaving Ross' face. "If you had seen me in some of my other bodies, you would never have been able to fall in love with me. I was far too unattractive."

Ross had seen pictures of the Doctor's older bodies, and personally, he felt that the Time Lord was right about that -- in some ways. "You might not have been great-looking physically a lot of the time, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder," he murmured.

"Oh?" The Doctor quirked an eyebrow, obviously interested in what Ross had to say. "I would have thought that you'd find some of my other bodies far too old. And really, I would have been, by the laws of humans and Earth. I'd be too old for you now!"

"There was always this .... this spirit that shone through in you, even if your bodies weren't so good-looking," Ross tried to explain. "It even comes through in pictures. You'll always be a beautiful, special man, Doctor. No matter what body you're in."

Was it his imagination, or did his lover actually blush upon hearing those words? Ross couldn't hold back a smile; the Doctor could be very vain about his good looks sometimes, but he sitll didn't know quite how to take a heartfelt compliment about them.

"Thank you," the Doctor finally whispered, raising his gaze to Ross' face again. "I never thought of myself as being attractive in any of my other bodies -- but if you say so, then I'll believe you. I know that you, of all people, would never lie to me."

"Never," Ross told him, sliding his arms around the Time Lord to pull him close under the covers. "I'll always be honest with you, Doctor. About yourself, about us, about how I feel and what I think, about everything in our lives."

"That's good to know," the Doctor said with a sigh of contentment as he snuggled into his young lover's arms. Ross moved a hand down his side, then to his hip, letting his palm slide over the rounded swell of one firm ass cheek.

He loved touching the Doctor's body like this -- and the Time Lord obviously loved being touched. He let out a soft moan, his own arms slipping around Ross' waist as he moved closer, until their bodies were firmly pressed against each other, skin to skin.

"Are you trying to tell me something, Doctor?" Ross asked, his tone teasing. He knew what the Doctor wanted -- and it mirrored his own desires. But he was going to hold out, just for a few minutes, before he gave them both what they were aching for.

"Oh, I think you know exactly what I'm trying to say," the Doctor whispered just before Ross' lips captured his own. Their bodies seemed to melt into each other, their hearts and souls meeting and entwining as the two of them lost themselves in their own private world of the senses.

***