Title: Will You Whisper
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Jack Harkness
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1, 50ficlets
Prompt: 31, Whisper
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 Jack Harkness. Please do not sue.

***

The Doctor closed his eyes, straining his ears, trying to extend his senses in every direction. He was listening intently, listening for something that he knew it was impossible to hear, something that was long gone from his life.

Listening for Jack's voice, that velvety whisper in his ear that had always sent shivers down his spine and made him want to melt into the other man's arms.

He couldn't quite bring himself to believe that he'd never hear that voice again -- well, not in that way, at least. He was sure that he and Jack would talk again. They had too deep a friendship to simply abandon each other.

But he would never lie in Jack's arms again, never hear that voice whispering to him in the darkness of their bedroom. He'd never hear that particular husky tone, Jack's seductive way of speaking to the person he loved.

That was over and done. Gone forever. Jack was no longer a part of his life in that way.

He hadn't thought that he would miss the tone of that voice, hadn't thought that every fiber of his being would cry out for the immortal. There had been times when Jack's words had grated on his nerves, and he'd wanted nothing so much as for the other man to be quiet.

But those whispers .... the way that Jack had spoken to him, the words that he'd said. The Doctor had been so sure, during those moments, that this would always be something he could hold on to, something that would never go away.

Yet Jack had left him, had chosen Torchwood over his relationship with the Doctor. He'd done what he felt he had to do, and the Time Lord knew that he had to accept it. Jack was still his friend, but their time as lovers was over.

It shouldn't be so hard for him to come to terms with that, should it? He shouldn't be longing for a man who obviously didn't feel the same way about him.

If concentrated hard enough, he could bring to mind just how that voice had sounded; the whispers of how much Jack loved him, of how he'd searched all of his life for what they shared, of how much he needed the Doctor.

Those words couldn't have been untrue. Jack wasn't the kind of man to lie; the Doctor knew that. If he could trust anyone at all in this world, he could trust Jack. His unwavering faith in the man who'd been his companion and lover hadn't been shaken.

Of course, he hadn't been able to trust Jack to stay with him as he'd said he would, a little voice spoke up in the back of the Doctor's mind, making him frown. Jack hadn't exactly been truthful about that, now had he?

The one man in the world who had forever to give him -- and who wouldn't give it. It was almost ironic that he'd fall in love with that particular person.

But Jack hadn't wanted to hurt him. He'd simply done what he'd needed to do for himself -- and far be it for the Doctor to hold him back from what he thought was right, even if it made the Time Lord unhappy. It was more important that Jack follow his destiny.

Still, the Doctor had been so sure that the immortal's destiny was with him ....

He sighed, shaking his head and opening his eyes, trying to relax from the tense, almost expectant posture he'd been standing in. He wasn't going to hear Jack's voice. He should know that by now. He couldn't recreate the past. It was impossible.

Chasing phantoms wasn't going to do him any good -- and neither was remembering his time with Jack and wishing that he could have it back. That was behind him now, and he had to accept the other man's decision and learn to live with it.

But, of course, that didn't mean that he had to be happy about it. And he knew that he never would, even if it was the right thing for Jack.

He'd never be able to reconcile himself to the loss of the one person who could have been with him forever -- and maybe there was even a part of him that would always be a bit resentful that Jack hadn't been willing to give him what he so desperately needed.

The Doctor sighed, going to the console of the Tardis and looking down at the various buttons and switches. He could go anywhere in the galaxy, any planet, any time -- and all he wanted to do was to go to 21st-century Cardiff and see his former lover.

Silly of him to want that. Ridiculous that he should think it would change things, make his life any different. Stupid to hope that Jack might change his mind. Absurd to wish that the two of them could ever recapture the past.

But if there was even the slightest chance that he might, just once more, hear that voice whispering in his ear -- then he was going to grab that chance and hold on for dear life.

***