Title: Leaving Las Vegas
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Peter Carlisle
Fandom: Doctor Who/Blackpool
Rating: PG-13
Table: slash_me_twice
Prompt: 19, City
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.

***

The Doctor looked around as he and Peter ambled down a street near their hotel in Las Vegas. It was past time for them to have left, but they were just getting around to strolling back towards the Tardis, after having spent longer here than they'd planned to.

He always felt a little decadent when he came to this city, the Time Lord reflected. That was probably because of the reputation that Vegas had; there were very few people who came here for a good time who could say they were here for innocent reasons.

Of course, he always was. He had no intention of looking for a temporary night of passion, a one-night stand, or winning money in some casino game. He hadn't a dime to gamble with, and he was glad of it. He would be terrible at those games of chance.

The only reason he now held Vegas in higher regard than he ever had was because this was the city where he'd met Peter. If it wasn't for this place, he would never have stumbled into the love of his life, and he wouldn't have the man he loved by his side.

Yes, Vegas had risen highly in his estimation. But there were still some things about the city that made him uneasy -- and he was glad that he and Peter were leaving. In fact, they were heading for the Tardis now, to enter the ship and leave Earth for a while.

It bothered him that the woman who Peter had thought he was in love with lived here now, with the man who she had originally left to be with Peter. The Doctor really didn't want her anywhere his lover, even though he trusted Peter not to go back to her.

The last thing he wanted was for her to have the chance to sink her hooks into Peter again -- even if he was absolutely sure that his boyfriend wouldn't fall for her schemes a second time. Still, he would feel much better if the two of them never met again.

He knew that Peter had wanted to confront her, to show her that he was with a man now and that he was happier with the Doctor than he had ever been with her. And he had agreed to come here so that Peter could do just that, to get some closure for a past relationship.

But he hadn't felt comfortable with the idea. He knew that his lover hadn't wanted to see that woman again for any reason other than to show her once and for all that he was happier without her, but he'd still felt uneasy about the idea of such a meeting.

He hadn't told Peter that he'd been relieved at the fact that the woman apparently hadn't been in Vegas for the entire time the two of them had been in the city. He had no idea what had happened to her, but no one seemed to know her name, much less where she was.

She seemed to have vanished from the face of the Earth, and the Doctor couldn't help but be glad of that. He didn't want her around Peter; he didn't want to see his lover have to deal with any nasty remarks, or go through any pain from a confrontation that he shouldn't have to deal with.

Even though it was what Peter wanted, closure for a relationship that he knew never should have been, the Doctor felt glad that he wasn't going to have to face that. He would feel much better if Peter could just put that memory behind him for good, bury it in the mists of time.

It seemed that Peter was going to have no choice but to do that, he told himself, glancing at his lover as they walked along. They hadn't been able to track down the woman, and really, Peter didn't seem overly concerned about that fact, which was a good thing.

There was no worried aura around him, no outward sign that he was anything but happy to be going back to the Tardis without having found the person he'd been looking for when they came here. He seemed to have made peace with the past, happy to be leaving it behind.

The Doctor hoped that was true; he wanted Peter to be able to forget about that relationship and how he'd been hurt by someone he had trusted. He wanted his lover to be able to look towards the future, a future that the two of them would share.

Moving closer to the other man, he slipped his hand into Peter's, smiling as he did so. "We've been here longer than we thought we would be, haven't we, love? I'm sorry your mission wasn't accomplished, but you don't seem to be too upset about that."

Peter shook his head, twining his fingers through the Time Lord's and squeezing his hand gently. "I"m not," he said, his voice sounding cheerful and carefree. "I've come to the realization that I don't need to confront her to get closure. I'm past that."

"How did you figure that out?" the Doctor asked before he could stop himself. He really didn't want to know when or why Peter had experienced an apparent epiphany about his past relationship; it was enough for him that it had happened.

"A few nights ago, when we were watching those fireworks and the pink ones formed a heart," Peter said, his voice soft. "Just standing there next to you, holding your hand, seeing that .... I knew that I was right where I belonged, and that the past didn't matter any more."

The Doctor's throat tightened at the other man's words; for a few moments, he couldn't bring himself to speak. Las Vegas had suddenly risen even higher in his estimation; being in this city was helping Peter to throw off past memories in ways that he hadn't expected.

This was what he had wanted -- for Peter to be abel to put the past behind him without having to see that woman. And it looked as though his wish had come true; Peter seemed to have no regrets about not finding what he'd sought in this city.

"I'm so glad to hear that, love," he finally said, his voice husky with emotion. "I'll be honest with you -- I've been worried about you seeing her again. I knew that you wouldn't go back to her, but I was worried about you having to confront a past that was less than happy."

"She doesn't matter to me any more," Peter told him, his steps slowing. "She hasn't for a long time now, Doctor. I just thought that it would be a good idea for me to see her again, and for her to see you. To let her know that I'm completely past her."

The Doctor nodded, feeling a burden slip away from him. Why had he thought that Peter might still be hampered by his past? He wasn't, and he hadn't been for a very long time. Keeping that worry lodged in the back of his mind had been needless.

"I was so worried that you would see her again and feel that you still had some bridges to cross," he admitted, wishing that he didn't have to say the words, but feeling that he owed it to Peter to do so. "I've been afraid that you would have second thoughts about us."

"Second thoughts?" Peter's dark eyes widened as he shook his head in negation of the Time Lord's words. "Never, Doctor. I'm with you now -- and the only reason I wanted to find her again was to close the door on the past and make sure that she knew it was closed."

"You know, I'm beginning to like this city a lot more than I ever have, if it can make you think that way," the Doctor told Peter with a smile, squeezing his hand again. "I won't ever worry about the past again, love. Not now that you've said those words."

"It's time we were leaving this city," Peter said, letting go of the Doctor's hand and moving closer to slide an arm around his waist. "We've been in Las Vegas too long. I like the place, but it's not somewhere that I want to spend my time with you, even though we met here."

"I'll always have a soft spot for this city, because it's where I met you," the Doctor said as they resumed their walk towards where they'd left the Tardis. "But you're right, Peter. It's time we were leaving, going to other places that hold more interest for us."

"We'll come back here one day," Peter promised him with a smile. "And next time, it'll be for ourselves alone. I won't have any ideas about confronting a past that I've already buried. I should have left that behind a long time ago, Doctor. I'm glad that I finally have."

"So am I, love," the Doctor answered, returning Peter's smile as his hearts lightened and seemed to soar in his chest. "The next time we're here, it'll be solely for ourselves, to remember how we met. And who knows? Maybe we'll even want to relive that first meeting."

He would make sure that they came back to this city again, the Doctor told himself as they turned down the alley where they'd left the Tardis. Las Vegas was starting to become a place that was dear to his heart -- and he had the feeling that he would be glad to see it again.

***