Title: Perfect For Each Other
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Ten.5
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 6, 50ficlets
Prompt: 34, Confession
Author's Note: The human version of the Doctor is being referred to as John Smith in this fic, since it's the Doctor's human alias and his clone needed a name.
Author's Note: Spoilers for Journey's End, somewhat. This is an completely alternate take on the ending of Season Four.
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 his human clone. Please do not sue.

***

"I have a confession to make," Jamie said softly as he lay next to the Doctor in their bed, his head resting on the Time Lord's chest. He was soothed and comforted by the strong, steady beat of those two hearts, their rhythm so closely attuned with his own.

"And what would that be, love?" the Doctor asked, his voice soft. His arm tightened around Jamie, pulling his lover closer against him. "You know you don't have to confess anything to me, sweetheart. You've nothing to be ashamed of. I was just as scared as you were."

Jamie knew that the Doctor referred to the ordeal that they'd so recently been through, being trapped in a room with no air, both of them feeling themselves slowly starting to fade away. He sighed softly, wishing that he could have changed how he'd behaved in that situation.

"I could have been a lot braver, instead of letting my imagination run away with me," he murmured, feeling shame wash over him. "I should have concentrated on looking for a way out, the way you were doing. But instead, I froze. I've never been so afraid in my life."

"Do you think I wasn't afraid, too? I was," the Doctor told him, sighing. "I thought it was the end of both of us, and I didn't want to contemplate that. Of course, we might have both regenerated, but our new bodies would have been destroyed from the lack of oxygen."

Jamie nodded, shuddering at the thought. "I know that I haven't been around for very long in this body -- or a human, either," he added. "I haven't had a very long life. But I have all of your memories, and I can't remember ever having been as scared as I was then."

"I've rarely been that frightened in my life, either," the Doctor admitted, shaking his head. "But there's no reason to be ashamed of fear, Jamie. We both had every right to be terrified. We thought that we were going to lose our lives. Anyone would have been scared."

"It just feels like something I should confess to you -- that I'm not as brave as you are," Jamie said with a sigh. "I know that I'm a Time Lord now, and that I'm expected to be brave in every situation. But there are times when I can't be that brave, Doctor. I'm sorry."

"If you think that I expect bravery of you all the time, then you're wrong," the Doctor told him, his voice soft and loving. "Jamie, I was terrified when I realized that all the air was being sucked out of that room. I didn't expect you to be any braver than I was."

Jamie closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and then slowly letting it out again. "You don't know how good it feels to breathe freely -- and how relieved I am to know that I didn't let you down by being as scared as I was," he murmured.

"You don't have to hold yourself to such high standards, Jamie," the Doctor said, a hint of reproval in his voice. "Neither of us are immune to fear, or any other emotion. I don't expect you to be fearless, or to feel guilty if you don't react to some situations in the same way that I do."

"I suppose I'm trying to be the closest thing to perfect that I can for you," Jamie admitted with a rueful smile. "And I don't have to do that, do I? You loved me as a human, and you love me now. I don't have to be anything other than who and what I am."

"You don't have to change a thing about yourself," the Doctor said softly, his voice husky with emotion. "I love you just the way you are, Jamie. You don't have to confess to any weaknesses you might have, because I don't expect you to be perfect. I'm certainly not."

"Maybe not -- but we're perfect for each other, and that's what counts, isn't it?" Jamie asked with a smile. He turned over and propped himself up on his elbow, gazing down at the Doctor. The man he loved had never looked so beautiful to him as he did at this moment.

"I have another confession to make," he said softly, reaching out to smooth a hand down the Doctor's cheek. "I love you, I think you're the most beautiful man I've ever seen, and right at this moment, I want to make love to you more than I've ever wanted anything."

The Doctor didn't answer in words; he simply smiled and held out his arms to Jamie. That was all the invitation he needed; within moment, the Doctor was wrapped in his arms, and the two of them were lost in their own world where no one existed but the two of them.

***