Title: Just What It Takes
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Jethro Cane
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 5, sound_of_drums
Prompt: 45, Just Enough
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 Jethro Cane. Please do not sue.

***

The Doctor smiled as he leaned his elbows on the console of the Tardis, letting his thoughts drift. There was nothing hiding in the shadows to bother him, nothing that he felt had to be done, no place to rush off to. He had time to himself.

Time that he could share with Jethro. His young lover had slipped into his life so seamlessly, with hardly a ripple in his existence in some ways. They fit together so well, better than the Doctor could have imagined himself blending with anyone.

Of course, in some ways, they were opposites. They didn't always agree on everything, but that was a fact of life for any couple, the Time Lord told himself.

Jethro had become such an integrated part of the fabric of his life that their abilities even seemed to merge. He hadn't realized before how much it helped him when he was in a bad situation to have an empath by his side.

He would never have thought, at their first meeting on that ill-fated train on Midnight, that they would ever achieve the closeness they had. Though he had felt an attraction towards the young man even then, he told himself, a small smile on his lips.

Now, he couldn't imagine a life without Jethro. He hadn't been like that with other companions; they'd been friends, and he'd been sorry to see them go, but Jethro was different. He was lover, not just a companion who could leave at any time.

He could leave if he wanted to, that small voice piped up in the back of the Doctor's mind. But he woudn't, not without a great deal of thought -- and also a lot of heartache for them both. That was a decision that Jethro would never make lightly.

Really, it was a decision that he wouldn't make at all, the Doctor told himself firmly. He wouldn't suddenly decide that he couldn't live this life any more.

They'd probably never know just what the bond was between them, the Doctor mused, propping his chin on his hand and staring off into space. But whatever it was, the bond was strong; it was something neither of them could turn their backs on.

His other companions had just enough curiosity and eagerness for adventure to keep them with him only for a short while -- well, a short while to his way of thinking. But Jethro was different; Jethro was dedicated to him in a way that no one else had ever been.

He hadn't really expected that kind of love and devotion when they'd found each other again. He'd hoped that Jethro would be with him for a while -- but he hadn't bargained on them falling in love. Though he wouldn't change their relationship, not for anything in the universe.

The Doctor heard his young lover's step behind him before Jethro cleared his throat. He didn't turn around; instead, he leaned back into Jethro's embrace as the young man slid his arms around the Doctor's waist from behind and pulled him close.

"You looked so serious for a moment," Jethro told him softly, brushing his lips against the Doctor's cheek. "What were you thinking about?"

The Time Lord considered brushing off the question with a lighthearted answer, but then thought better of it. Jethro had a right to know what he was thinking about; besides, it wasn't anything that should cause concern for either of them.

"I was just thinking how different my relationship with you is than with any of my other companions," he answered as Jethro nuzzled his cheek. "I'm used to having companions -- not lovers. And I have to say, I like this much better."

"You had Jack with you before," Jethro reminded him as his arms tightened around the Time Lord's slender waist. The Doctor thought that he could detect a tightening in Jethro's voice too, an indication that he still bore some resentment towards Jack.

"Yes, I did," he agreed, hoping that he could defuse Jethro's animosity towards his former lover at some point. "But Jack didn't stay with me. He was a different person from you, Jethro -- and he wasn't the man I'm destined to be with."

"That's a relief," Jethro said, his tone sounding somewhat lighter, as if he'd been worried about what the Doctor would say. "At least I know I'm meant to be with you."

"Of course you are," the Time Lord said softly, turning his head slightly so that their gazes met and held. "You've got just what it takes to be my partner, Jethro. No one else I've been with ever has -- even the ones who were more than just companions."

Jethro nodded, a smile forming on his lips as he bowed his head to kiss the Doctor. "I don't need to be jealous of anyone who was in your life before me," he whispered against the other man's lips. "They're the past. I'm the future. I'm the man who's with you now."

"You're the one who doesn't have too much of anything, or not enough," the Doctor told him, his voice as soft as a caress. "You have just enough, Jethro. The right proportion of everything it takes to be with me. And more than that -- you're the man I choose to be with."

"And just think, if you hadn't been drawn back to Midnight, we'd never have found each other again," Jethro said softly, resting his cheek against the Doctor's hair. "It's amazing that we did, isn't it? That out of all the people you could have been with, I'm the one."

"Not so amazing when you consider how much I love you," the Doctor murmured, closing his eyes and letting himself relax in Jethro's arms.

"I'm sure that sometimes I give you reason to wonder if you fell in love with the right person," Jethro laughed, the sound of his voice making the Doctor's hearts skip a beat. He always loved to hear the young man's laughter; it made him feel young, buoyant, carefree.

"I don't doubt that I give you cause to feel that you'd rather be anywhere else than here sometimes," the Doctor answered with a grin. "But I'm glad you're here, Jethro. You've become so much a part of me that I don't think I'd know what to do without you."

"You'll never have to worry about that," Jethro said softly, bowing his head to capture the Doctor's lips with his own again. Jethro certainly had just what it took to sweep his senses away to another world, he thought dreamily, as he gave himself up to his lover's embrace.

***