Title: Steam
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Ross Jenkins
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: VRD challenge - Yellow, 5_prompts
Prompt: Rubber duckie
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 Ross Jenkins, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Ross glanced up from his book at the clock on the wall of the Tardis' library, smiling as he realize the incongruity of it being here. Why would a Time Lord want to have a clock on the wall? It wasn't as though he had to keep track of time.

Or maybe he did, the young man thought, frowning and putting his book down in his lap. The Doctor always said that time wasn't static, that it was fluid and always moving; so maybe he needed to be able to keep track of time more so than most other people did.

Ah well, that wasn't really important, was it? he thought, sighing and picking up his book again. He himself didn't think about time nearly as much as he used to, when he'd been a member of UNIT and his time was regulated by bells and timetables.

He'd hated that, he thought with a shudder of distaste. There were a lot of things that he hadn't really cared for about being a solider, and feeling that he was a slave to someone else's idea of what he should be doing with his time was at the top of that list.

What was the Doctor doing that was keeping him away from the library for so long? He'd told Ross that he was going to take a quick shower, but maybe he'd changed his mind. He already knew that the Doctor far preferred long, relaxing baths to showers.

That must be where the Time Lord was, Ross told himself, a smile spreading over his features. He could just imagine his lover laying back in the bathtub, his eyes closed, soaking in the warm water, steam clouds curling around that long, lanky body ....

Ross let out a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding, putting down his book and getting up from the couch. He was going to make his way to the bathroom and find out just what the Doctor was doing -- and, if he was in the bath, Ross intended to join him there.

He padded down the hall barefoot, knowing that the Doctor more than likely wouldn't hear him coming and would be surprised when he showed up in the bathroom. But he wanted to give his lover what he hoped would be a very pleasant surprise.

Pushing the bathroom door open, he had to pause for a moment, blinking to adjust his vision. There was more steam in the room than he'd thought there would be -- and it was very obvious from the lack of sound that the Doctor was indeed relaxing in the bath.

As the steam cleared, Ross could see the Doctor leaning back in the bath. His gaze rested on his lover's handsome face for a few moments, unable to focus on anything else but the calm, relaxed features of the man he loved more than life itself.

He stepped closer to the bath, starting to pull off his shirt -- until he noticed something in the tub with the Doctor, something that he never would have expected to see. Something that made his eyes widen and almost brought a gasp to his throat.

There, floating in the bath, was a bright yellow rubber duck. A smiling rubber duck that looked as though it was perfectly at home there in the water with the Time Lord, a rubber duck that was obviously meant as a bath toy for a child who wanted to play rather than bathe.

Ross couldn't hold back a soft laugh at the sight of that rubber duck. Of all the things that he would have expected the Doctor to have in his bath, this was the last one he would have thought he would see. But he had to admit that he found it .... well, adorable.

The Time Lord's eyes flew open at the sound of Ross' laugh; he started to rise from the bath before he realized just who was there in the room with him and settled back against the porcelain edge of the bath, looking up at his boyfriend.

"What are you laughing at?" he asked, raising both brows in an obvious question. "This?" He picked up the rubber duck, holding it in one hand and smiling up at Ross. "This is Seymour. I felt like letting him play in the bath tonight. He doesn't often get the chance."

"Seymour?" Ross choked back another laugh, hoping that the Doctor wouldn't take offense at it. "You named your rubbie duckie?" He stepped closer to the tub, pulling his shirt over his head as he did so. "I had one when I was a kid, but it didn't have a name."

"Why not?" the Doctor asked, shifting his position to place Seymour back into a small wire basket that sat on the floor by the end of the bath. "Everyone deserves to be known by a name. And yes, I know that he's a rubber duck. But I thought he needed a name."

"That's actually .... kind of sweet," Ross said softly, swiftly unbuckling his belt and unzipping his jeans. It only took him a few seconds to step out of them; by that time, the Doctor had already slid forward in the bath, making it clear that he wanted Ross to sit down behind him.

Easing himself into the bath, he sat down behind the Doctor, wrapping his arms around the Time Lord's waist and drawing the other man back to lean against his chest. "I think I actually called my rubber duck Mr. Duckie," he whispered, smiling at the memory.

"See! He did have a name!" the Doctor exclaimed with a smile. He settled back into Ross' arms, closing his eyes and heaving a contented sigh. "I'm sorry if you were worried about me. I thought you'd probably figure out where I was."

"And decide to join you?" Ross murmured, nibbling at the Doctor's ear. His hands were already starting to roam over the Time Lord's body, the passion between them rising as it always did when they touched each other. "I couldn't hold myself back."

His amusement over the rubber duck and its name were forgotten, the growing passion between their bodies blinding them to anything but each other. Within moments, they were lost in each other, steam once again filling the room and enclosing the two of them into their own little world.

***