Title: To Have and To Hold
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Ross Jenkins
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 4, 50ficlets
Prompt: 6, Hold
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 lay back on the pillows, a smile on his face. One hand absently stroked the Doctor's hair; the other arm was wrapped around the Time Lord's waist, holding him close. Ross couldn't hold back a soft sigh of contentment as he relaxed next to his lover.

What was it about holding the Doctor that could make him feel so safe and secure, so perfectly content in every way? Maybe it was because they'd just made love, and every time seemed to get better. Ross smiled at the memory, turning it over in his mind.

He'd never been with anyone like the Doctor before. It wasn't just that the Time Lord was an incredibly pasisonate man; Ross had been with men before who had left him breathless and exhausted in the aftermath of a bout of lovemaking.

But the Doctor was different. There had never been this feeling of completion with anyone else; it was like every lover he'd ever had before had only been a footnote in his life, and that the first chapter hadn't been begun to be written yet.

Maybe that was true, he told himself with an inward smile. His life hadn't really started until he'd met the Doctor. This man had become the center of his universe in such a short time; it was obvious, to him at least, that they had always been intended for each other.

He couldn't imagine himself going back to the life he used to lead, or even thinking about it. There was no one and nothing that really held him to Earth; he was free to be with this man, free to devote himself to the Doctor in every possible way.

And he wouldn't want to go back to Earth on a permanent basis, for any reason, Ross told himself firmly. He might go back to visit his friends, the way that the Doctor did -- but as for staying there, he would only do that if his lover was by his side.

Ross shifted his position slightly to get a bit more comfortable, pulling the Doctor more closely against him and twining his fingers through the Time Lord's hair. He wanted to lie here forever, holding the Doctor in his arms, and not have to think about anything but the two of them.

What was it about holding the Doctor that was so peaceful -- so utterly right? No one else had ever felt this way in his arms. There was no awkwardness, no uncomfortable moments while they both tried to find a position that felt natural.

The Doctor fit into his arms -- and into his life -- in a way that no one else could possibly hope to. He'd thought of them before as being two puzzle pieces that fitted together into their own comfortable niche, but now, that analogy seemed even more valid.

He could spend the rest of his life holding this man -- and that was what he intended to do. He wanted to fall asleep every night with the Doctor in his arms, and wake the next morning clasping his lover close to his heart, feeling safe and happy.

Holding the Doctor made him feel at peace with the universe in a way that he never had. There was something about having his lover beside him, holding the man he loved within his embrace, that soothed his spirit and made him feel that all was right with the world.

How was it possible that simply holding someone could give him such peace of mind? Ross wondered, a slight frown crossing his features. Was he fooling himself to think that this perfect happiness was something that he could reach out and grasp in his own two hands?

No, he wasn't, he told himself firmly, the frown replaced by a smile. This was meant to be; that was the only explanation he could possibly find for something that felt this right. He had been searching his whole life for this, for the place where he belonged.

The Doctor sighed in his sleep and snuggled closer to Ross, making the young man smile. He ruffled the Time Lord's hair, bowing his head slightly to brush a kiss across the other man's forehead, feeling all of his love for this man well up inside him.

No one else had ever made him feel like this because there was no one else in the universe like the Doctor. There couldn't possibly be another person who would fit into his arms this way, or who could fit into his heart as well.

Ross tightened his arms around the Doctor, turning over onto his side and looking at the man in his arms. He couldn't keep another smile from spreading over his face -- any more than he could stop the desire that sparked within him.

He could only lie here and hold the Doctor for so long, Ross told himself, his smile widening as the Time Lord stirred in his arms. At some point, their desire for each other would overtake them both -- and he was sure that they were approaching that moment very quickly.

***