Title: Not Only Human
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Giacomo Casanova
Fandom: Doctor Who/Casanova (Masterpiece Theater)
Rating: R
Table: 3
Prompt: 37, Wish
Author's Note: The character of Giacomo Casanova is based on the BBC version of Casanova starring David Tennant. Continuation of Ask Me Anything.
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 Giacomo Casanova. Please do not sue.

***

The Doctor wasn't sure exactly what he should say to Giacomo; his thoughts seemed to be melting together, and it was impossible to pick just a few expedient words out of the jumble in his head. How did he explain to a man from the 18th century that he was a time traveler from the future, without sounding like an absolute madman?

His first words hadn't seemed to startle the Italian; he'd felt Giac's heart start to beat more rapidly, heard a slight intake of breath -- but other than that, he hadn't felt anything that indicated shock. Surely Giac couldn't have imagined what he was ....? No, that wasn't possible. He wouldn't have that kind of knowledge.

Giac couldn't possibly understand the concept of him not being from this time. The fact that he wasn't from this world would be a hard one for him to swallow, as well. He was surprised that the other man hadn't already jumped up and started pulling his clothes on.

"So .... you aren't from my world," Giac murmured, one hand raising to stroke through the Doctor's hair. He could feel the Italian's breath, soft against his hair, Giac's other hand stroking lazily across his chest, fingers playing with his nipples. "I gathered that -- your accent is not from Venice."

The Doctor sighed inwardly; this was going to be much harder to explain than he'd thought. Giac didn't understand exactly what he meant -- and how was he going to explain the subtleties of intergalactic travel to a man from the 18th century? How was he going to tell Giac just what he was, and why he couldn't stay here, without making himself sound insane?

Another thought occurred to him, making his eyes widen at the realization. What if Giac told other people what the Doctor told him? They'd surely think he was mad, and they'd more than likely throw him into an asylum for the insane. Then he would have meddled with history in a way he'd never intended to, or even thought of.

"That .... isn't exactly the context I was aiming at," he finally said, the words coming out slowly. He had two choices: pick and choose his words carefully, or simply tell Giac the entire truth of who he was and where he was from. Which one would work better? He had to decide, and quickly, before Giac asked more questions.

"No? Then tell me what you meant," Giac said softly, his hand still stroking lightly over the Doctor's chest. It was hard to think when he was being touched like that; he wanted to sink into the sensation, forget everything but the pleasure of that caress.

"I meant ...." The Doctor hesitated, then made his decision. It would probably make Giac think the worst of him, but at least he would have a clear conscience. This man had become his lover in a very short space of time; he didn't feel as though he had the right to hold back from him, not after what they'd done together.

He sighed, closing his eyes and letting the words come out. "I meant that I'm from the future, Giac. I'm not from your time. I'm a time traveler -- you're in my ship. I travel in time and space -- and I chose to come here to experience firsthand what this part of the past was like. I didn't count on meeting someone and losing my heart."

The Doctor was startled by his words as soon as they left his mouth. Losing his heart? Was that true, or was it just something that had slipped out without him really meaning it? Had Giacomo managed to settle into a permanent space in his heart in such a brief space of time, or was he simply being romantic and melodramatic and saying things he didn't mean?

Giac's silence worried him; he couldn't tell if the other man was mulling his words over, or if he was holding back an explosion of laughter and denial. But he couldn't feel any sudden tension in the slim body he was leaning against, so that was probably a good sign. And Giac didn't stop touching him -- another indication that he wasn't shocked.

When the other man finally did speak, his words were slow, as though he was measuring them carefully before he uttered them aloud. "I should have known that there was something different about you from the first moment I saw you. Of course, I did know that -- but not quite how different you would prove to be."

The Time Lord was taken aback by Giac's reaction -- this definitely wasn't what he'd expected. He had thought that the other man would push him away, leap out of bed and declare that he was mad. But Giac seemed to be thinking over his declaration, taking it rather calmly.

"You surely couldn't have suspected that you would hear something like that when you asked me who I am," the Doctor ventured, not quite sure just how to phrase his words. He didn't want to say anything that would make Giac uneasy. "But nevertheless, that's the truth of it, in the simplest way that I can put it."

"Of course I didn't expect to hear that," Giac answered, his expression serious when he tilted his head to look down at the man reclining back against his chest. "But I believe that all things are possible -- so who am I to say that it isn't true? I choose to believe you, rather than to think that you can't possibly mean what you're saying."

"Ask me whatever you want to know," the Doctor said, his mouth going dry and his hearts starting to thump harder in his chest at the thought. Giac might ask him questions that he wouldn't be able to answer easily, but this man had a right to know about him. "I'll try to answer you as best I can."

"I have far too many questions for you to answer easily." Giac chuckled, leaning back against the pillows and tightening his hold on the Doctor. "I could keep you here for the next few days and nights answering my questions about the future. But I wonder .... is it best to know of the future, or to live each day to the fullest and look forward to whatever may happen?"

"Now, that is something I don't have an answer for," the Doctor murmured, struck by the truth of Giac's words. He hadn't expected to come across this sort of attitude in this time period -- but he'd probably met one of the few men here who would think like this.

"I've always thought that it would be much better to not know one's future," Giac told him, his searching hand moving lower, splaying out over the Doctor's belly, fingertips caressing the Time Lord's sensitive skin. "That would take a great deal of the joy out of living, wouldn't it? I wouldn't care to know exactly what was going to take place in my life."

"You're very right about that," the Doctor said, sighing in pleasure and closing his eyes. He shifted his position slightly, spreading his legs a little and leaning more against the other man. "I've always been able to see infinite futures, and I long ago came to the conclusion that it's best not to contemplate them too closely."

"I would like to think that you and I could have a future together," Giac murmured, his breath warm against the Doctor's skin. "But that wouldn't be possible, would it? You cannot stay in this time indefinitely, and I ...." He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them to meet the Doctor's gaze. "-- I cannot go with you when you have to leave."

"No, you couldn't," the Doctor agreed, feeling tears rise behind his eyes. Why did this always seem to happen to him? He would meet someone he cared deeply for -- even loved -- and because of what he was, they couldn't be with him, or they were torn from him through no fault of their own, or his. It seemed that he was doomed to be alone.

"But you could come back to visit me, no?" Giac's hand moved even lower, settling between his legs, making the Doctor squirm and push his hips upwards, letting out a soft moan. How could he be expected to answer when such a delicious warmth was spreading through his body, his rising desire for Giac blocking out all coherent thought?

"Yes, I could .... that is, if you're sure that you would want me to." He barely managed to get the words out before the feel of Giac's fingers curling around his cock and stroking made him moan again. He couldn't speak, couldn't think, could barely breathe. And if he wasn't careful, he was going to beg Giac for more of what they'd already done.

"You know that I would." Giac's voice was soft and husky in his ear; the Doctor closed his eyes, arching his back and giving himself up to the warmth of that stroking hand. "I somehow think that this wasn't the reaction you may have expected from me."

"No, it certainly wasn't," the Doctor agreed, feeling disappointed when the soft stroking stopped and Giac's arms wrapped around his waist. He sighed softly, closing his eyes and letting his body go limp. How was he going to explain to Giac that he wasn't just from the future -- which he had seemed to take well -- but that he wasn't human?

Giac's hands were on his chest again, smoothing over his skin, that soft touch making him shiver slightly. One hand was laying directly over his chest; the Doctor's breath hitched in his throat when Giac's hand stopped moving, pressed over the center of his chest, able to feel both of his dual heartbeats under his palm.

Maybe he wouldn't have to explain that he was an alien being, after all. Maybe Giac could put two and two together, and come up with seven.

"You ...." Giac's voice trailed off, the palm of his hand pressing more firmly on the Doctor's chest. "You have .... two hearts." His face bore an expression of shock; the Doctor swallowed hard, waiting for the other man to push him away. "Unless I am going mad."

"No, you're not going mad," the Time Lord managed to say, feeling his throat close up as the words fell into the still air around them. "I do have two hearts, Giac. I'm ...." He had to swallow hard again; this was one of the hardest things he'd ever had to say to anyone. "-- I'm not human."

Never in all the long centuries of his life had he wished more that he could be human, that he wasn't what he was. He'd been told that being a Time Lord was a blessing; no, to him it was more of a curse. A curse that doomed him to be radically different from all the people he cared for the most.

It wasn't fair.

He was always going to be separated from those he cared about -- by something that could seem so small, yet in the great scheme of things was very large indeed. He would never be like them. He would never know what it was like to be human. That gap would always be there, an insurmountable chasm that he could never leap over.

Giac was stock-still, as if he was frozen in place. The Doctor was afraid to look up at him, afraid that he would see a look of revulsion on that handsome face. He had to steel himself to move his gaze upwards, dreading what would meet his eyes.

He let his breath out, exhaling silently. Giac didn't look disgusted; no, he only looked a bit confused, as though he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. His blue eyes met the Doctor's dark gaze, the look in them both unsure and questioning. But he didn't look as though he was prepared to push the man in his arms away from him.

"Not human?" he repeated, his tone of voice curious, hesitant. "Does that mean that you .... are not from this planet? Or that you're some new species, one that the human race doesn't know about yet?" He picked up the Doctor's hand from where it rested on the blanket, studying the Time Lord's palm intently. "You look human."

"Yes, I do," he said softly, his gaze not wavering from the Italian's. "But I'm not. I'm from a planet called Gallifrey -- a planet that was destroyed by what were called Time Wars. I'm the last of my kind, Giac. There isn't another Time Lord in the universe -- anywhere. I'm the only one left."

"That must be terribly lonely," Giac whispered, letting go of the Doctor's hand and placing his palm on the Time Lord's cheek, his thumb caressing the curve of the Doctor's cheekbone. "To be the only survivor of your kind .... I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," the Doctor replied, raising one thin hand to mirror Giac's caress. The Italian's skin felt soft and velvety beneath his fingertips; he couldn't help moving his hand to Giac's hair, threading his fingers through the silken texture of it. "It's a bit of a lonely existence, but I've learned to deal with it."

"I wish you didn't have to deal with such loneliness," Giac murmured, lowering his head to brush a gentle kiss across the Doctor's forehead. "I can try to alleviate that loneliness, if only for the moment -- if you'll allow me to do so." His hand was already moving down the Doctor's body again, fingertips stroking across the Time Lord's stiffening nipples.

"Of course I will," the Doctor whispered, closing his eyes and giving himself over to the pleasure of Giac's touch. It might not be the smartest thing to do -- not when that little voice in the back of his mind was screaming at him to leave this time period with all possible speed -- but he couldn't just leave. Not yet.

Not when he'd met someone who'd captured his heart in the way that Giacomo had. He could surely spare a bit more time to spend with this man; after all, he might never be able to see Giac again. This might be the only time they had together, and he wasn't going to let it slip by and end up with regrets as he had with so many other possibilities.

They would have to part -- he knew that. It was inevitable, and he was sure that Giac knew it too. But for now, they could enjoy each other, and he could rest assured that Giac accepted him for who he was -- at least for the moment.

***

Next story in series - Built For the Future.