Title: Rise and Shine
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Michael Cutter
Fandom: Doctor Who/Law & Order
Rating: PG-13
Table: VRD challenge - Purple, 5_prompts
Prompt: Toast with blackberry jam
Warning: ongoing story, past non-con
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 Michael Cutter, unfortunately. Please do not sue.

***

Michael glanced across the table at the Doctor, unable to stop the beginnings of a smile from tugging at his lips. Ever since had had proposed to the Time Lord in the beautiful garden they'd found on the last planet they visited, he'd viewed his lover in a new light.

Had there ever been any man as beautiful as the man he intended to marry? He didn't think so. He couldn't take his eyes from the Doctor; even doing something as mundane as spreading blackberry jam over a piece of toast, he was mesmerizing.

Or was that only because he was so much in love with this man? Mike asked himself. In love enough to ask the Doctor to marry him. He'd never even considered doing that with anyone before, not in his entire life on Earth.

But there, in that enchanted place with so much beauty around them, it had seemed natural. He'd known in those few moments when he'd knelt at the Doctor's feet that he wanted nothing more than to be with this man forever, for them to be bonded and united in every way.

He could imagine spending every morning of the rest of his life this way; here on the Tardis, having a long, leisurely breakfast with his lover in the kitchen, and then spending the rest of the day together, visiting any planet that took their fancy.

It was a lovely mental picture, but that probably wasn't the way that things would happen, Mike thought with an inward smile. They wouldn't be here every morning; they would be in hotels, or back on Earth, or they could even be in dangerous situations.

There was no reason for him to think of that at the moment, though. For now, he could hold on to his rosy little dream, and revel in the fact that this man was going to be married to him. It was still hard for him to believe that the Doctor had actually said "yes."

Could it be possible that he was actually going to be married to the Time Lord? They hadn't set a date for when it would happen, but Michael knew that the Doctor fully intended to marry him; he never went back on a promise once it had been made.

The Doctor looked up at him with a smile, raising his brows in a silent question. "What are you thinking about, love?" he asked softly, looking curious. "You seem so deep in thought, and I can't help wondering if there's something bothering you."

Mike shook his head, propping his chin on one hand and gazing across the table at the man he loved. "No, nothing's bothering me at all," he said softly, returning his lover's smile. "I was just thinking about how amazing it is that we're going to be married."

"It just seems like a natural progression to me," the Doctor said softly, taking a bit of his toast. "I always knew that I would marry you, Michael, from the beginning of our relationship. I knew that we would be together, and that I wanted to belong to you."

"I've belonged to you from the first minute we met," Mike told him, his voice soft and husky. Those words were so true, he thought to himself. His heart had been lost from the moment he first saw the Doctor -- even if he hadn't quite realized it at the time.

As he regarded his lover, a drop of the blackberry jam that the Time Lord had spread on his toast dropped from the bread to land at the base of the Doctor's throat, clinging to his skin in a glistening purple bead. Mike couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight.

What was it about that bit of jam just lying there against the Doctor's pale skin? He could almost see the Time Lord's pulse beating in the sensitive hollow at the base of his throat where the jam lay, and he knew just how he wanted to remove that drop of flavor.

Getting up from his chair, he moved to where the Doctor was sitting, leaning over the Time Lord and gently tilting his head back. He could still see that drop of jam, starting to slide enticing down the Doctor's warm skin on its way to falling down his chest.

Before he could think about what he was doing, Michael leaned forward, pressing his mouth to the spot right at the base of the other man's throat where that drop of jam was precariously balanced. With one lick of his tongue, the jam was gone -- but he didn't stop there.

He couldn't stop himself from kissing the Doctor's throat, moving his mouth slowly up that slender column to the Time Lord's jaw -- and then to his mouth, tasting the sweetness of blackberry jam and coffee when their lips met in a heated kiss.

It was several long moments before the two of them broke away from the kiss; when they did, the Doctor's eyes were wide and a little unfocused, and Mike was breathing heavily. All he could think of was getting the Doctor back into their bedroom.

As if he was thinking the same thing, the Doctor rose to his feet, sliding both arms around Michael's waist. They stood there for what seemed like a long time, their foreheads touching, each enjoying the warmth of the other's nearness.

Finally, Mike spoke, his words sounding loud in the quiet of the room. "I think we should take this back to the bedroom, don't you?" His voice was somewhat breathless even to his own ears, the excited tone making him smile wryly. He sounded like a horny teenager.

The Doctor nodded, swallowing hard before he found his voice. "Oh, I couldn't agree more," he whispered, leaning against Michael as his arm tightened around his lover's waist. "I have the feeling that we might be spending a good part of the day there."

Mike couldn't keep a smile from spreading over his face; it seemed that his actions had given a whole new meaning to the term "rise and shine." He'd have to remember that -- and put the memory to good use on all the many mornings together that he was sure would be ahead of them.

***