Title: Dangerous To Know
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Josef Kostan
Fandom: Doctor Who/Moonlight
Rating: PG-13
Table: Beta 1, challenge_the
Prompt: 4, Beginning
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Tenth Doctor or Josef Kostan, unfortunately. Please do not sue.

***

The Doctor looked over at Josef as they ambled along, wondering why this young man hadn't hesitated to leave the party and come back to the Tardis with him. There was something a bit strange about him, but the Doctor couldn't quite put his finger on just what it was.

He was .... mysterious. Yes, that was it. Josef seemed to be hiding something, but the Time Lord couldn't begin to imagine what that something was. He seemed harmless, a handsome, easygoing young man who was also incredibly sexy.

Just why did he find men who had an aura of mystery about them so exciting? Jack had been the same way when they'd met again, after he himself had a new body; the other man had seemed like a different person, much more guarded and secretive.

Josef wasn't really like that, but there were secrets behind that pretty face. The Doctor didn't doubt that for a moment. There was something very guarded about Josef's demeanor; it was almost as though he expected someone to jump out at them at any moment.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, noticing that Josef was looking around with a slight frown on his face. "You don't think we're being followed, do you? I doubt anyone would want us to stay at the party that badly," he added, tryign to lighten the mood.

The young man shook his head, flashing the Doctor a smile. "No, it's not that, he answered," his words coming slowly. "I'm just wondering if I'm doing the right thing by going home with you. You really don't know what you might be getting yourself into."

"I know that you're a charming man, and that I'd like to spend some time getting to know you," the Doctor told him, raising an eyebrow. "Do I really need to know more than that? Relationships are started on much less information than I have about you."

"There are so many things you don't know about me," Josef said, his voice low, not looking at the Doctor. "I thought when I met you at that party that a little one-night dalliance would be okay with me, but now I'm not so sure. I might like you too much for that."

"I like you, too," the Time Lord said softly, moving closer to Josef as they walked. He wanted to take the young man's hand, but he couldn't help wondering if Josef would object to that. Something had apparently changed for him over the course of just the last few minutes.

"If you don't want to come home with me, then you don't have to," he said, trying to keep the hurt out of his voice. "It's not like I'm going to jump all over you, or demand sex. I just thought we could get to know each other, and see where things might go."

He wanted to make a beginning with Josef, to find out more about this intriguing young man. And if the two of them seemed compatible, at least in a friendly way, he'd wanted to ask Josef if he would take a trip out into time and space with him. Just one trip.

That was what he said to all of his companions, wasn't it? "Just one trip." But it usually turned into many more than one -- and those companions always ended up leaving him. Josef probably would, too, even if he was enthused about the idea of time travel at first.

He would deal with that when the time came. He was already getting ahead of himself, taking it for granted that Josef would want to come with him. For all he knew, this young man had a life on Earth that he wouldn't want to leave -- or maybe not even be able to leave.

But he wouldn't know until he asked, until they made some sort of a beginning. And at this point, it felt as though Josef might be pulling away from doing even that much. The Doctor couldn't help but wonder why; he wanted to know the reasons for Josef's hesitation.

"It's not that I don't want to," Josef told him, stopping in his tracks and fixing the Doctor with an intense gaze. "It's that I'm starting to feel like you're worth a lot more to me than just a brief dalliance. That you could be somebody important in my life."

"I feel the same way about you," the Doctor said softly, turning to face the other man, his gaze locked with Josef's. "But we'll never know the answer to that until we spend a bit of time getting to know each other, will we? Standing here debating the issue won't make that happen."

Josef shrugged, affecting a nonchalant look that the Doctor was sure didn't match what he was actually feeling. "I guess you're right about that. But there are things you don't know about me that might get you into trouble later. I guess if you're willing to take that risk ...."

"What is there about you that could get me into trouble?" the Doctor asked, wondering what in the world Josef could mean. "Are you a murderer? A thief? Someone who's wanted by the police? If that's the case, then maybe I should be running for my life."

"Maybe you should have done that before we left the party," Josef muttered, his eyes seeming to burn a hole through the Doctor. "There are a lot of people who would call me a murderer. And I've never been apologetic about the things I've done."

The Time Lord took a step away from Josef, then another. He didn't mean to; the response was automatic when he heard the young man's words. He had no idea what Josef meant -- but if he was indeed a killer, it might not have been a good idea to be alone with him.

"I'm a dangerous person to know," Josef continued, shoving his hands into his pockets. "And I like you too much to expose you to that kind of danger. You'd be better off to just go home and forget I exist. It'd make me said, but it would be best for you."

The Doctor made a split decision, shaking his head firmly and not looking away from Josef. "No. I'm not going to just forget about you, and I'm not going to go home without you. You don't seem dangerous to me, no matter what you say. Don't underestimate yourself."

"Do you really think that?" Josef's voice was softer now, his gaze even more intense. He smiled, taking a step towards the Doctor. "If you knew some of my secrets, you might change your mind about that. I'm not the kind of person you might like to have around."

"What is it that's so horrible you have to give me all these dire warnings?" the Doctor asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "It sounds as though you're terribly down on yourself, Josef. If you think you're such an unsuitable person, then give me a good reason why you think so."

"I wish I didn't have to tell you," Josef murmured, his voice almost sad. "But you deserve to know the truth about who and what I am, and make a choice from that. I don't want to mislead you. I already think too much of you to fool you into thinking I'm a safe person."

Quicker than the blink of an eye, Josef rushed forward, grabbing the Doctor's shoulders and pressing him back against the brick wall of the building they'd been walking past. The Time Lord's breath froze in his throat, his eyes widening in sudden fear.

Josef's face had .... changed. His eyes were blazing, incandescent, as though they were lit from a fire within him. And he had .... fangs. He didn't look like a human any more. He looked like some creature of the netherworld -- a dangerous creature.

"I'm a vampire," Josef whispered. "I've been a vampire for over four hundred years. I'm not human. I drink blood. I kill people. I'm not what you thought I was. Now tell me that you feel safe around me, that I'm the kind of person you want to be with."

The Doctor gulped, not sure of what to say. Josef could more than likely rip his throat out in a second, if he was given the chance. But the Time Lord was sure that he wouldn't do that. Even with his human guise stripped away, Josef still didn't seem like a cold-blooded killer.

"I could be wrong, but -- I don't think you want to hurt me," he whispered, wishing that Josef would let go of his shoulders before bruises formed. "You may be a vampire, but that doesn't necessarily make you evil, Josef. I don't believe anyone is completely dark."

Josef stepped away, dropping his hands from the Time Lord's shoulders and looking down. When he raised his head again a few moments later, his face had returned to normal; there was no sign of the feral beast that he could become when he was provoked.

"I don't want to hurt you," he whispered, shaking his head. "I don't kill people unless I have to. I take my blood from the vein, but I'm not an indiscriminate killer. I'm not like that. Not any more. I haven't been for a long time. But there's always the chance --"

Without realizing what he was doing, the Doctor raised a hand to stroke Josef's cheek. "I'm willing to take that chance," he said softly, his gaze not wavering from the other man's face. He reached to take Josef's hand, squeezing it gently. "I'm not exactly what you might think, either."

"Really?" Josef's brows arched in question, a smile quirking his lips. "Then tell me just what you are, Doctor. Maybe two misfits can make a beginning together." He looked expectant, tilting his head to the side and waiting for whatever the Doctor had to say.

***