Addictive
A Doctor Who Fan Fiction

Disclaimer: Doctor Who and its lovable characters belong to the BBC.

Setting: Somewhere, somewhen with the Doctor and Jack travelling together, told mainly from Jack's point of view.
(The details aren't really that important, but let's just say that Jack agreed when the Doctor asked him to tag along after the year that never was)

Pairing: Jack x Doctor (mainly Ten, later Eleven)

Warnings: Adult situations and some drama (as you might guess from the summary)
Also, mentions of addictions (while this story deals with a rather uncommon kind of addiction, I should probably point out that all this, and most drugs in general, are neither healthy nor romantic in real life)

Notes: So here we go, with a story that's been ghosting around my head for a month now. The idea of the Doctor growing addicted to Jack's kisses is something that could come straight out of a kink-meme (but actually didn't), and it just would not leave me alone until an actual plot had grown around it.

Discovery

Shining brightly, the sun lit his way as Captain Jack Harkness was walking proudly, for he had once again saved the day.

The town had been evacuated, yet besides the missing population, nothing indicated how close this entire civilization had come to total extinction. Asides from Jack and the Doctor, only a selected few had joined the battle, and yet they had succeeded at last.

He had made sure the bomb had been disintegrated rather than merely disarmed. Normally, this would not solve the problem, for the people would have to learn acting responsibly at one point in time – but this particular bomb had never been built on that planet in the first place. Rather, it had been a means by alien invaders to force the local population into submission.

Luckily, though, Jack had taken care of the bombs. In the meantime, the Doctor had been negotiating to the actual aggressors and, judging by the departure of the space ships above, he had succeeded in doing so.

A wide grin spread on Jack's features as the familiar blue box he had become a frequent passenger of appeared in his field of vision. Right next to an actual police station, it stood exactly where they had left it.

Another day, another good deed. While their mission had progressed rather tediously at first, they had, for once, not met any serious difficulties – well, as far as Jack could tell, at least.

Hopefully, he would find the Doctor in a good enough mood for him to finally join Jack on his party tours. He had been hearing about that marvelous new intergalactic bar, but was having a hard time in convincing his friend to actually tag along. Apparently, the Doctor, or at least this incarnation of him, was not that much of a drinker – and yet Jack figured that getting his friend to loosen up every once in a while would really benefit both of them.

The two of them had their own burdens to carry, and both of them dared mentioning those far too rarely. They had been traveling together for quite a while already, so why was it still so hard to get the time lord to open up to him?

With a heavy sigh, Jack unlocked the Tardis and stepped inside. He did not expect the Doctor to have returned yet, but...something still felt out of place somehow.

He smelled the air and was alerted in an instant. A closer look at the ground confirmed what his nose had already told him.

Blood.

A rustling to his right alerted him to another presence. His head whirled around to make out the source and...

His heart nearly stopped at the sight of the Doctor leaning heavily against a pillar...covered in what could only be his own blood. "Their leaders did not know about the bombs…and apologized for the misunderstanding," the time lord explained with a dry smile, "Unfortunately, the true culprit…was standing right behind me all the while." With a pained grimace, he lifted the hand covering his abdomen to reveal a gashing wound. "I'm afraid...I'll have to regenerate," he added weakly and slid down against the pillar with a heavy fit of coughs.

After approaching hesitantly, disbelievingly, at first, Jack all but jumped the final distance in order to catch his friend in his arms. "No, you can't," he whispered, cradling the shaking time lord gently, "not yet."

He had been planning to ask the Doctor out on, err, a casual date amongst friends.

He was not prepared to see the time lord die nor regenerate on him.

He was not prepared for that at all.

"I don't want to, either," the Doctor replied with another weak smile and dazedly looked at his bloodied right hand..which left a trace of golden light in its wake already, "I guess you should get some distance."

Breathing heavily, Jack only tightened his grasp on the time lord. This was not easy on both of them, he realized that. He was confused, and he was unprepared, and he wanted to help his friend in this dire time of need, but all he could think about was...that he did not want him to change.

Taking a deep breath, Jack pulled the Doctor even closer and understood too late that even that little movement intensified the pain his friend was in.

But he couldn't help it. It wasn't fair. He had barely gotten this Doctor to warm up to him – and he was far from done with him yet.

So what if Jack had grown to love his talkative ways? What if he had always considered him attractive? What if some part of him had always hoped that, one day, there was a chance for more?

None of that would matter anymore...if this Doctor, his Doctor, was suddenly replaced by somebody else. Somebody new who was still him somehow, and yet so very different. What if the new Doctor would not like him anymore? What if he would even choose to send him away, returning to his old, cruel argumentation of Jack being wrong in his very nature?

So much could happen, and Jack could not bear thinking about any of these scenarios. But he could not mention his fears either, could he? There was no helping it, for he could not save him. He was losing his Doctor here and now, and there was nothing he could do but hold onto him even more tightly.

Even though Jack had tried to be fair enough not to burden his friend with his own fears, his actions were enough to give him away. "I'll still be me," the Doctor reassured him in a very quiet voice and closed his eyes. As Jack did his very best to memorize the face he had grown to like so very much, he painfully realized that he would never get to see those eyes again. He would never hear that voice rambling again. And... he would never get the chance to experience a kiss from that mouth.

With another deep intake of air, Jack gathered all his courage. "And yet, this you was brilliant," he offered with a rueful smile, leaned forward...and dared stealing that kiss after all.

If the Doctor was surprised, he did not show it. Perhaps, it was too late for him to even notice.

But to Jack it meant the world.

He had not kissed the time lord since Satellite Five. Back then it had really been nothing but a goodbye kiss. On that notion… it was one this time, too.

But Jack had changed since then. He had become immortal, and he had noticed long ago that even something as human as kissing felt different now.

But this...just now, with the Doctor...this short, shy brushing of lips…even though it was not an actual kiss at all it literally took Jack's breath away.

Reluctantly he pulled away at last, casting another sad look at his friend's still form. If he had known it would feel as intense as this...he would have harassed his Doctor much sooner. As a matter of fact, he should have harassed him sooner no matter what.

But at least, he had this moment. The calm before the storm.

In this very moment, resting calmly in his arms, the Doctor was his and his only. Jack smiled softly. The time lord almost looked peaceful. How long would that peace last? How long until regeneration forced another personality onto his dear friend?

Jack tried to find any indicators, but was startled to find the golden glow... entirely gone. If it was not for the enormous amount of blood they were covered in, he would have guessed the Doctor to just have fallen asleep in his arms.

Jack's heart skipped a beat.

What if regeneration had failed? What if he had died? But...the Doctor was breathing, wasn't he? Anxiously, Jack checked his friend's pulse with shaky hands. Thankfully, though, it seemed normal enough. It was then that another curious detail caught his attention. The stab wound looked different.

Carefully lowering his friend to the ground, Jack moved to take a closer look – only to find the injury gone.

His eyes widened.

This…

Had he done this? Had that short kiss been enough for his strange immortality to get a hold of the Doctor, too?

A single tear ran down Jack's face as he allowed himself to pull the sleeping time lord into another hug. No matter how it had happened – the Doctor was alive and well and if Jack was lucky...he would stay his Doctor for many years to come.

Notes: So how do you like it so far? I'll try to update on a daily basis, but some feedback really helps with that, so please review? In any case, thanks for reading!