Title: I Won't Share You
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Jack Harkness
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1, fanfic50
Prompt: 18, Share
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 Jack Harkness. Please do not sue.

***

Jack tightened his grip on the Doctor's hand, looking over at his lover with raised brows. "Ready to brave the bar?" he asked, nodding towards the neon-signed building. "It's not a rough place, but I'm sure there are guys in there who might try to give you a hard time."

"You mean a hard time as in trying to flirt with me?" the Time Lord inquired, his own brows raised. "I'm used to that, Jack. In fact, if I wasn't with you, I'd probably have flirted back with them -- at least a bit. But now I have no need -- and no desire -- to do that."

"It's a good thing you feel that way," Jack told him, brows still raised. "Because I don't share what's mine. I might have been willing to do that with other people, or when we were together before, but I'm different now. I'm not sharing my man with anybody."

"Just as long as you don't expect me to share you, either," the Doctor said, a frown settling onto his face. "I'm well aware of what you were like the first time we were together, Jack. I'd like to think that you've changed a lot since then, but you still have to prove it to me."

"Hey." Jack turned to the Doctor, sliding one arm around the Time Lord's slim waist and pulling the other man close against his body. "You don't have to worry about that. I've changed, Doc. I don't have any interest in anybody else. You're the only person in my life."

The Doctor closed his eyes for a moment, leaning against Jack and breathing in the tangy, spicy scent that his lover always exuded. He wanted to believe those words so badly -- and he had to admit that, so far, Jack was living up to them quite admirably.

He wanted to believe Jack when he said that he wouldn't share -- or be shared. And so far, his boyfriend had stuck to those words. He hadn't flirted -- well, not much. And when the Doctor had shown that he wasn't pleased with it, Jack had stopped immediately.

His boyfriend was trying. And, as far as the Doctor could tell, he was succeeding admirably in becoming the person he wanted to be -- someone who was faithful to his lover, who didn't let himself stray in any way. Jack was doing his best.

How many times had he told himself that he shouldn't want Jack to change if the really loved the immortal? Too many to count, the Doctor thought with an inward sigh. But the truth was, if they wanted their relationship to be strong, Jack had to change.

If he hadn't, then they would never have lasted. The Doctor didn't want to be with someone who fell into bed with any person they found attractive; if he was involved, he wanted that relationship to be solidly monogamous. It was a simple concept to understand.

Jack wouldn't have understood that if they had still been at the beginning of their relationship. It had taken losing the person he loved, and living with the guilt of knowing that it was his own actions that had driven the Doctor away, to make him face his own feelings.

But now that he'd been through the pain of losing someone who had left him because of his own actions, Jack seemed to have curbed his desire to stray, or even to flirt. He would still do so if he was trying to get some sort of information, but other than that, he behaved himself.

"Are you okay, Doc?" Jack sounded slightly worried; the tone of his voice made the Doctor take a step back and shake his head quickly in negation. "Look, if you don't want to go out to a bar, we don't have to. It's just been a while since we kicked back and relaxed."

"I wouldn't exactly call going to an intergalactic bar relaxing, but I don't mind it once in a while," the Time Lord answered, squaring his shoulders and heading towards the door of the place. "As long as no one tries to flirt with either of us, I'll be fine."

Jack was beside him in two long strides, holding the door open for his lover to enter the place before he did. The Doctor tried to ignore the stares of all the men who were already there, going directly to the bar and leaning against it as he tried to get the bartender's attention.

Within a few seconds, Jack was right beside him, a proprietary arm sliding around his waist. It seemed as though his boyfriend meant what he said about not sharing; he was going to let everyone there know that the two of them were undoubtedly together.

A few men glanced their way, throwing appreciative looks at both of them. But the Doctor noticed that not one man dared to approach; Jack had a look in his eye that told them he wasn't going to budge from the side of the man he was with.

And they all seemed to respect that, the Time Lord thought, sliding onto a barstool and telling himself to relax. Jack had made it obvious before they'd even come in here that he had no interest in anything that anyone else might offer. He knew who he was with.

That was probably why all the men in the place were looking at him with what the Doctor could have sworn were expressions of jealousy. They more than likely all wanted Jack -- and the Time Lord couldn't help but wonder if any of them might try to get him.

"You're nervous," Jack said softly, leaning close to murmur into his ear. "Don't be. I'm not interested in any of these guys. I wouldn't be even if I was single. And I think I've made it pretty damn obvious to them that I don't share the man I'm with, either."

"They seem to be taking the hint very well," the Doctor remarked, casting a glance around the bar. Even though there were a few men looking at the two of them from the corners of their eyes, there was no overt flirting, and no sign that there would be any.

"I don't think anybody would mess with a man who's got his arm around his boyfriend -- especially when they look a little too closely and he frowns in their direction," Jack said with a laugh, holding up his glass. "Cheers, Doc. You've finally managed to reform me."

"No, I think you managed to reform yourself," the Doctor corrected him with a smile. "You're the one who decided that having a committed relationship where you were faithful to the other person was more important to you than flirting or being with other people."

"Yeah, that's true," Jack admitted, flashing a grin at the Doctor. "But you're the person who made me realize the error of my ways. I don't believe I'd ever have done it for anybody else. But for you -- it's not a sacrifice. You won't share me -- but I won't share you, either."

"And that's the way it should be, when you're in a relationship with someone you love," the Doctor said, his voice soft and husky. "You know, I think we could continue this conversation somewhere much more private, don't you? I believe it's time we left."

"I think I just might agree with you," Jack told him, tossing back the rest of his drink and reaching for his wallet. He left the money on the bar, then slipped his arm around the Doctor's waist again, guiding the Time Lord out of the bar, both men heading back to the Tardis with eager steps.

***