Title: A Bolt From the Blue
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Peter Carlisle
Fandom: Doctor Who/Blackpool
Rating: PG-13
Table: VRD challenge - Blue, 5_prompts
Prompt: Out of the blue
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 Peter Carlisle. Please do not sue.

***

Peter looked across the console of the Tardis at the Doctor, smiling as he did so. There were still times when it was hard to believe that he was here, living the life of an adventurer in a very different way than he ever could have imagined in the past.

He'd always thought of life as something of an adventure; it was one reason he'd wanted to become a detective. From his youngest days, it had seemed like one of the most exciting things to do with his life -- capturing criminals.

But he'd discovered now that traveling through space and time was much more exciting to him than having his feet firmly planted on Earth. He'd enjoyed his job, most of the time, but he didn't feel any real regret at leaving all of that behind him.

Why should he? He'd fallen in love with the most amazing person in the universe; had had no reason to be anything but ecstatically happy that they could spend their lives together. No, there were no regrets, and there never would be.

Falling for the Doctor had been something that he never would have expected in the life he'd left behind. He'd always felt attracted to men, but other than a few stolen kisses here and there, he'd never acting on those feelings.

Realizing that he loved a man had been a shock; it had hit him like a bolt from the blue. He'd wondered at the time if he had ever really known himself. It had just seemed so odd to have fallen so hard for a man when he'd never even dated anyone of the same sex.

How could anyone not fall for the Doctor? Peter asked himself, glancing across the console again. The Doctor didn't notice his look; he was busy doing something at the viewscreen, all of his concentration upon the problem at hand.

Anyone who could resist this man must be made of stone. Peter let his eyes travel over the Doctor's handsome features, his gaze resting for a moment on those lips that he'd loved to kiss from the first time they'd met his own.

It shouldn't be surprising at all that he'd fallen for this man. There was something about him that drew people in his direction -- and his good looks would command attention. Sometimes too much attention, Peter thought with a slight frown.

That was one thing that he disliked about loving the Time Lord. On some of the planets they'd been too, there had been far too many people who had ignored his presence -- and the fact that he was obviously with the Doctor -- and had made attempts to seduce his lover.

Of course, the Doctor had gently but firmly turned them down, and made it clear that he was taken. Peter knew that there was really no need for him to feel jealous; the Doctor was never going to cheat on him, or even flirt with anyone else.

Unlike all the other people he'd ever been involved with, he told himself sourly, pushing the thoughts away as soon as they entered his mind. He didn't want to think about that bitch who had been such a large part of his life at one time. She was nothing to him.

If only she could see him with the Doctor! Peter couldn't help but smile and almost laugh aloud at the thought. She would he horrified if she saw her former lover with a man -- especially as he was so happy with the Doctor, happy as he'd never been with her.

He knew now that he'd never loved her. It had only been desire, lust, a primitive feeling that had burned out just as quickly as it had begun. He'd tried to fool himself into thinking that he loved her, even following her to Las Vegas.

And there, he'd met the Doctor -- and all thoughts of getting her back into his life had disappeared. He'd known from their first meeting, even when he'd been drunk, that this man was going to be a huge part of his future, the axis that his world revolved on.

Love had struck him like a bolt from the blue -- real love that hadn't been based on mere physical desire, but something that went much deeper. Of course, he'd wanted the Doctor -- who wouldn't? But it hadn't been desire and nothing more.

With all of his other amours, he had been drawn to them through desire. Of course, he'd wanted the Doctor -- but there had been an indefinable something more, something that had settled in his heart from their very first meeting.

Even if he hadn't been drunk, he would have taken the Time Lord up on his offer. There was no way that he would have been able to turn down such a man. Nothing of what had happened between them had been planned, but he couldn't help feeling that it had been destined.

He'd never felt so comfortable with anyone as he did with the Doctor. Even though he'd never made love to a man before, there had been no doubts, no hesitation. He'd wanted the Doctor as he'd never wanted anyone. And it had been more than that.

He had felt that he belonged with this man. That was a feeling that had hit him out of the blue before, but he'd always had an explanation for it. This time, he didn't -- and strangely enough, he hadn't been bothered by that fact.

It didn't matter why he had fallen for the Doctor. The only thing that mattered was that he had fallen harder than he ever had before -- and that this time, the feeling was returned wholeheartedly and honestly. This time, it was real.

Love had hit him out of the blue before, but never with this kind of force. He'd never known what it was like to truly love, without any boundaries or any misgivings. He'd fallen quickly and completely, with no reservations whatsoever.

Their first time together hadn't been the best experience for either of them -- at least to start off with, he thought wryly, feeling a bit guilty as his memory went back to that night. But they'd certainly gotten past the awkwardness very quickly.

And ever since then, their feelings for each other had only grown stronger. He'd known that they would; something within him had told him that his love for the Doctor could never diminish. It could only strengthen over time.

That was being proved with each and every day, Peter told himself, another slow smile spreading over his face. The love he felt for this man hadn't diminished a bit; no, it only grew stronger and deeper with each day they spent together and each night they shared.

Love might have hit him like an unexpected bolt from the blue, and it might have taken a long time to finally get to him, Peter thought as the Time Lord raised his head and smiled at him. But now that it had, he wanted to immerse himself in that love and never let it go.

***