"And... attach that... there... and... Done!" the Doctor muttered, gripping the TARDIS console and pulling himself out from under her, not noticing his double's gloomy expression. "Her circuits were damaged when Rose spilled her tea, that's all. All better now! Now come on, where to? Anywhere in the entire galaxy, but you know that already." he frowned. Sometimes he managed to talk so fast he even confused himself. His double was usually the same; but the man hadn't said a word in the past hour. "What's wrong?"
"Rose."
The Doctor paused for a second, then walked over to the other man, peering down at him. "What about Rose?"
"You know exactly what; you are me. You feel the same way, don't you?"
"Well, no- Well, yes... Well, I know how you feel."
This drew a laugh out of the other Doctor, and their eyes met understanding each other.
It had hurt, losing Rose. It had hurt bad, burned them, broke their three hearts. But she had seemed to want to go, to die, to escape. Her final days had been awful, for them as well as her. She'd gone insane. Just snapped. They'd always known she would, you can take the girl out of the TARDIS but you can't take the TARDIS out of the girl. When they'd taken the energy into themselves, they had known it was only temporary, that her mind had already been scalded too bad to repair. All they had done was put off her death.
But we all have our time. And we all must go. The Doctor softly wrapped his arms around his duplicate, kissing his forehead. "It seems an awful lot like somebody needs a hug."
"Hug, kiss, snuggle, sex. You know."
Even in the midst of heartbreak, they still laughed and they still joked. And they still moved on; although neither of them would admit it to the other, losing Rose had not been the end of their worlds like they'd expected. No, as long as they had each other, they'd be fine. Perfectly fine.
They loved each other, they really did, although neither of them would admit that either. If one thing could be said about the Doctor in this regeneration, it was that he was stubborn. He could out-stubborn a rock, and indeed he had, but that is a story for another time.
"Of course I know, I'm you." the Doctor chuckled softly, picking the other Doctor up and carrying him into their bedroom. They slept together now, they hated the night, they felt so alone without Rose. Even though the Doctor never slept, having the other man snuggled on top of him made the night pass with that much less trouble. And the other Doctor had to admit he couldn't sleep without the sound of the Doctor's heartbeats echoing in his ears; it was soothing, rhythmic. He could understand the Master now, how soothing and calming it was to have a steady beat always pounding in your head.
Not once had either told the other they loved them, but it was something that didn't need to be said. It was assumed a fact by both, as much of a fact as... well, the way things were going nowadays what was true and proven kept changing, but they knew it in their hearts, and they'd both be devastated if the other left.
"Do you wanna change into some pjs?" the Time Lord asked. The other Doctor shook his head, burrowing his head in the man's chest. Even though with anyone else they both would prefer to be the one wearing the pants in the relationship, the mock-Time Lord was happy to let his Doctor take care of him. Only for this man would he be content to be the bottom, he knew that he'd never hurt him. And so for him, he let his guard down. They both dropped their defenses around each other; it wouldn't matter if they didn't, though, because they could read each other like a book.
But still he knew the Doctor held back something. He was always holding something back, always. It was because the other Doctor was only human. He would age, never regenerate, and eventually die. That was why the Doctor left everyone in the end, because he couldn't bear to lose them. The bravest man in the world; afraid of death.
But this human Doctor, he knew the Doctor's mind. Just the same as he knew his. And he was determined not to be left behind. Not again. Not ever again.
"Alright." the Doctor gently stroked the man's messy brown hair. "Let's get you out of this suit, okay?"
The other Doctor nodded, all of a sudden lacking energy to do anything but let his... Lover wasn't exactly right. Neither was boyfriend. Self, he supposed. He had no energy to do anything but let his self take care of him. He was laid softly on the bed, and he took a moment to enjoy the sweet smell of the bed. Mongolian horse hair, he remembered. His Doctor had bought the mattress for him, after he expressed his love for it.
The Doctor lay down next to him, jacket already off. He wriggle the blue jacket off of the other man, tossing it onto the chair next to their bed. Before he could move again, the other Doctor had buried his head into his chest, wrapping his arms around him desperately.
The vulnerable side of the Doctor. It's something that isn't seen much; if ever. But he does have one, just like everybody. He's just good at hiding it. That's why they're glad to have each other. They finally have somebody who knows them inside and out. They have nothing to hide anymore.
"What's the matter?" the Doctor cooed softly, kissing his duplicate's hair softly.
"Everything."
"It's going to be okay." the Time Lord reassured. He was glad to have someone to care for; he was glad the other Doctor had been so willing to let him be the protector. Without someone to take care of he would have lost his mind. The last of the Time Lords would have killed himself. But now he had a responsibility, someone to rely on. Someone who needed him. The only problem was the fact that the other knew when he was lying. So it did indeed make it a bit hard to comfort him. But the Doctor was a stubborn man, and he was determined to comfort the man in his arms.
Which he did eventually manage.