Title: Purity
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Giacomo Casanova
Fandom: Doctor Who/Casanova (Masterpiece Theater)
Rating: R
Table: G1, 5_prompts
Prompt: 1, A single white rose
Author's Note: The character of Giacomo Casanova is based on the BBC version of Casanova starring David Tennant.
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 opened his eyes, disoriented for a moment. Where was he? There were times when he went to so many different places that he couldn't keep them all straight in his mind; it was easy to forget where he'd decided to spend the night.

Memory came back to him in a rush, bringing a smile to his lips. How could he have forgotten? He was in Venice with Giac; he'd left the Tardis and come to his lover's lodgings for a change, spending the night in Giac's bed.

And an absolutely wonderful night it had been. Giac might be a human, but he had marvelous stamina when it came to sex; he was one of the few men the Doctor had met who could keep going all night and not need a long period of time to be ready again.

That was only one of the reasons that he had become known throughout history as the world's greatest lover, the Time Lord told himself, holding back a laugh. If most people knew what Giac was like in bed, they would refer to him in even more glowing terms.

The Doctor himself would certainly never refer to Giac in anything other than words of love. He sighed softly as he rolled over and snuggled next to his lover; Giac was still sleeping, but he had a feeling that the other man would wake quickly.

He was right; Giac opened one eye, smiling at him and reaching to wrap both arms around the Time Lord's slender waist and pull him close. The Doctor did the same, enfolding Giac in his arms and luxuriating in their embrace.

He would have to leave all too soon; he'd have to go back to traveling through time and space, alone with only his memories of Giac to tide him over until the next time they saw each other. That knowledge made this time with his lover doubly precious.

But he would always come back, he told himself, nuzzling his cheek against Giac's shoulder. There would always be a place for him by this man's side; no matter what other lovers Giac had in his life, the Doctor always held a special place in his heart.

Just as Giac did in his. This man would always be a part of him; he loved Giacomo Casanova with a fierece, all-consuming love that he'd never allowed himself to feel for anyone else. No one could ever touch the depths of soul in the way that this man had.

Giac might be someone special to quite a few people, but no one had the same sort of relationship with him that the Doctor did. The world might not know of their love, or even of the Doctor's existence in Giac's life, but that didn't matter to him.

As long as he was in this man's heart, any sort of public recognition of their relationship wasn't at all important. All he needed was Giac's love. Anything else was simply the icing on a cake that he could have -- and eat as well.

The Doctor laughed softly at the thought, hugging Giac closer against him. His lover smiled at the sound of that laughter, bowing his head to brush a kiss against the Doctor's cheek before capturing the Time Lord's lips with his own in a sweet, lingering kiss.

"What are you thinking of, my sweet?" Giac asked softly, raising a hand to brush the Doctor's hair out of his eyes. "Your laughter tells me that whatever it was, it must have been a good thought. I hope that it was about us."

"Of course it was," the Doctor murmured, blushing at the question. "I was thinking that even though no one really knows about me being in your life, that doesn't matter. As long as you love me and I have a place in your heart, nothing else is important."

"You know that you'll always have a place in my heart, my love," Giac told him, bringing the Doctor's hand to his lips and kissing his fingertips. "I may have many other lovers in my life, but none of them will ever touch my soul in the way that you do."

Releasing his hold on the Doctor for a moment, Giac rolled over and reached for something lying on the table beside his bed. When he turned back to the Doctor, he handed the Time Lord a single white rose, pristine in its full bloom of beauty.

"White roses symbolise purity," he said softly, caressing the Doctor's cheek with the dewy petals of the flower. "And my love for you is pure, my Doctor. The love I have for you is the most heartfelt emotion I could ever have, and one that will always be a part of me."

The Doctor's dark eyes filled with tears as he took the rose from Giac; he had to swallow back the lump that had risen to his throat and blink back the tears to keep them from falling. Those words were the sweetest sound he had ever heard in all of his long life.

"My love for you is the greatest emotion I've ever known," he whispered, fighting the urge to cry. He could feel his throat closing on the words; if he kept speaking, he would cry, and he didn't want to do that. Not here, not now.

"Shhh, my sweet. Don't cry," Giac told him, pulling the Time Lord into his arms again. "There should be no sadness when we are together. We can save that for the times when we have to be apart -- even though we can take comfort in knowing that we'll be together again."

The Doctor nodded, sniffling as he raised a hand to wipe at his tears. "I didn't mean to cry, sweetheart," he apologized, taking a deep breath. "It's just that .... no one has ever said anything so beautiful to me before. I couldn't help but get a bit emotional."

"You can be as emotional as you like with me," Giac said, his voice husky. "I'll always be here to hold you and to love you when you need the comfort of my arms, my Doctor. There will always be a pure and honest love for for you to wrap yourself in with me."

"Most wouldn't call our sort of love pure," the Doctor said quietly, raising a hand to stroke Giac's cheek with his fingertips. "Even though we know that it is, the rest of the world would see us as being immoral and wrong in what we feel."

"They would be the ones who are wrong." Giac kissed the Doctor's palm, then pressed the Time Lord's hand to his cheek. "What I feel for you is more pure than any emotion I could feel for anyone else. You and I know that, no matter what anyone else may think."

The Doctor nodded and closed his eyes, snuggling into Giac's embrace with a soft, contented sigh. His lover was right. Their love was pure, no matter how anyone else chose to see it. They shared something that most people weren't lucky enough to have in their lives.

And even though they couldn't be together, the two of them would always be in each other's hearts -- which meant that they would never truly be apart. He smiled at the thought as he relaxed in his lover's arms, the scent of the white rose filling his senses as he drifted off to sleep.

***