I've always wanted to write a "5 Times etc., etc." story. And I do so love my Doctorcest.


One

In Ten's defense, he had been caught off-guard. After all, it was rather hard to keep your wits about you- Time Lord brain notwithstanding- when A) your future self had suddenly, quite literally, crashed into your (his?) spaceship, B) yet another alien incursion was threatening the human race, and C) your future self was apparently the flirtatious type who would not stop smiling, no matter how many times you asked him to.

All in all, Ten was confident that he could be excused for reacting so… poorly.

Anyway, Ten found himself facing the alien threat with his future self, a bowtie-adorned, tweed-wearing bloke with ridiculous hair and an equally ridiculous chin. But honestly, not that he was one to brag or anything, with two Doctors against a massive space fleet of Sontarans, it was safe to say that the Sontarans didn't stand a chance. They'd defeated the clone warrior race (whom Eleven had almost affectionately referred to as the 'Potato People'), and the usual feelings of joy, relief, and adrenaline pumping through their veins followed. Except that this time, it was just the two of them, alone, in Ten's TARDIS, celebrating their victory.

Now, Ten didn't know how Eleven preferred to express his gratitude, or joy, or whatever… it was, but the last thing he expected was for the younger-faced older man to grab his face and plant a wet one right on his lips.

To be fair, it was brief. You might've even called it chaste. A few seconds at the most. And it certainly wasn't meant romantically (he thought). But still, when Eleven pulled away, beaming like a fool, all Ten could do in response was stare.

And stare.

And keep staring, until Eleven's smile faded and he suddenly looked apologetic.

"Oh, uh… Sorry," he said awkwardly. "Got a bit excited."

Ten's brain willed him to say something, anything, to save face from simply staring like an idiot at his future self, but all that came out was a squeaked "'s okay."

And then Eleven had turned back to the console, working at various controls and buttons, until the sound of the engines picked up in Ten's ears, and Eleven was looking back at him with his grin, bright as ever, back on his face.

"Goodbye, Doctor," he'd said, and he soon vanished into thin air.

Ten's fingers came up to his lips, lingering there for longer than they probably should have.


Two

Ten happened upon him in, of all things, a little shop.

Of course he was flabbergasted to see a second TARDIS outside, and to see him there, bowtie and all, holding two identical snow globes up to the light as if inspecting them for flaws. But apparently, Eleven failed to notice his younger form standing right behind him, and it was up to Ten to snap out of his daze and clear his throat rather loudly.

When Eleven did look at him, he didn't share Ten's expression of confusion and surprise. Certainly, his eyes widened a fraction of the way, and his mouth formed a small 'o', but that quickly dissolved into his signature dopey grin.

"Oh! Lovely surprise, meeting you here," he'd said, as nonchalantly as one would greet a colleague. He shoved a snow globe directly in Ten's face. "What do you think? The snowflakes in this one are more swirly than this one," he held up the other, "but this one doesn't have that nasty chipped paint on the little castle's doors…"

"Seriously?" Ten blurted, half-outraged and half-desperate. Eleven blinked at him.

"Well, I can't exactly walk up to the Empress of Genzat Five without an impeccable present. You know how she is."

"What are you doing here?!"

"... I just said. Empress of Genzat Five, present…?"

Ten, at a loss for words, merely gestured wildly with his hands. First at himself, then at Eleven, and finally at the two identical police boxes outside the shop. Eleven only raised an eyebrow, setting down both globes on the same shelf he'd picked them off of.

"Okay… Clearly somebody is in a mood. I was going to ask if you wanted to come with, but…" he shrugged. Turning to a new shelf, he plucked a purple plastic kazoo off its display case and strolled to the register, money already in hand. Ten only watched him as he paid the shopkeeper and walked back to him. The kazoo was now placed inside a small paper bag.

"I'll give Altazaeta a hello from you," he said, leaning in to peck Ten's cheek in the most innocent of gestures. Ten blushed furiously, but Eleven merely sauntered out of the shop. He walked into his TARDIS, and eventually there was only one blue box standing outside. His future self was insane, Ten decided. He'd finally up and gone mad.

Still, when Ten finally left the shop on his own, he had a newly-purchased snow globe in hand; it was the one with the swirl-ier snowflakes.


Three

This time, Eleven got to him first.

They'd both come to a planet covered entirely in beaches, and coincidentally (or not, Ten was beginning to get suspicious of these meetings) parked their TARDISes on the exact same strip of sand. Ten had been minding his own business, sitting lazily in a fold-up chair he'd found somewhere in the depths of his time machine, when a shadow suddenly cast itself over him. He peered over his sunglasses and nearly fell out of his chair at the sight of the still-grinning Eleven.

"The lighting on this planet really makes your freckles stand out, you know."

"What are you doing here?" he immediately responded, exchanging his look of surprise for one of annoyance.

"Companions," answered the older Time Lord, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder.

Ten followed the thumb's direction and indeed, way off in the distance, two people were playing in the waters of the mostly-deserted beach. A redheaded woman and a skinny man, from what he could see.

"And why come to this particular beach?" he asked, forcing himself to look away. Tantalizing as the future was, it was bad enough that he'd been caught unaware by Eleven twice now. He'd keep his guard up this time.

"I remember having a certain… fondness for it," Eleven smiled. Without invitation, he plopped down besides Ten on the sand, though because he lacked a chair, he was significantly lower on the ground than his younger self. It almost amused Ten, if he wasn't already so cautious around Eleven.

"Aren't you worried your companions are going to see me?"

"Nah. They're used to me chatting up the locals, and since we've just arrived on this planet, they don't know that the locals are actually giant squid people. Besides, Amy will get bored and insist we go to the resort a few miles up anyway. It's what happened back on Ealthor. But instead of a resort, it was..."

As Eleven talked, he gazed out at the waters of the beach, and Ten found himself studying his future face. He hadn't had the time before, really. And… let's just say he wasn't dissatisfied. While the bowtie and tweed were ridiculous, they suited Eleven more than any other article of clothing Ten could think of. And the hair- well, Ten wasn't one to go on about that. It suited Eleven, too. But what really caught him was his older self's eyes. The sun's reflection made them almost sparkle, like priceless jade stones from some ancient treasury. And there was so much inside those eyes, he could tell. Adventure and fear, guilt and compassion, the past and the future. So enraptured by those eyes was Ten that he failed to notice that Eleven's mouth was still moving until he'd been elbowed in the stomach.

"Ow! What?"

Eleven laughed, "I was asking where your companion is. I don't remember if we ever brought somebody here or not."

And then, Ten deflated. "No, I… We're by ourselves. Martha, she… She just left."

The aforementioned compassion in Eleven's eyes grew, and a smooth, pale hand came to grasp Ten's own. He didn't even flinch.

"She keeps in contact. Like she promised she would."

Ten nodded, silently grateful for the words that his future self really should not have been sharing with him. A shout came from the other side of the beach, causing both Doctors to look over at Eleven's companions. The woman- Amy, Ten guessed- had her hands on her hips in a menacing posture.

"Oh," Eleven hurriedly got up. "That's the 'I'm getting impatient, Raggedy Man' stance. I'd better get going."

"Oh…" To Ten's own disbelief, he sounded… disappointed? He quickly recovered though, and shot Eleven a cheeky grin. "Don't suppose you could tell me the name of my next companion?"

Eleven held a finger to his lips. "Spoilers. See you later, Doctor." He grinned, twisting his upper body around to wave at his companions. Once he was sure they weren't looking anymore, he turned back to Ten and dropped a kiss to his forehead. Ten didn't even blink. He even smiled as he watched his future incarnation walk away.

He visited the beach planet a lot more after that.


Four

They'd met next at a party. And this time, Ten had his own companion with him. The fiery, if short-tempered Donna Noble was accompanying him, and the pair had just crashed a fancy (or 'posh', as Donna put it) ball, which celebrated the birthday of the young princess of Menzacorida.

Donna had wandered off somewhere, being able to tolerate only about eight minutes of a bored Time Lord, leaving Ten alone by a wall, forlorn. Luckily, his future self had arrived just as he was contemplating going after the temp from Chiswick (which Donna would have surely thanked him for- she was in the middle being chatted up by the prince, thank you very much).

He didn't notice Eleven until he tapped his shoulder, and then the younger-faced Time Lord was right beside him. Grinning, of course. Only, instead of the usual tweed affair, Ten noticed, Eleven was donning a far more appropriate outfit: a white tie suit, complete with a silk scarf and of course, a white bowtie. And a top hat, of all things! Ten suddenly felt rather underdressed in his standard black-bowtie-and-converse ensemble.

"Doctor," he greeted, partly to cover up his embarrassment. "Did we really decide to crash the same party twice in one night?"

"You may have crashed it, but I am here by invitation," retorted Eleven, bumping shoulders with his past incarnation. "From the princess herself."

"Really?" Ten tilted his head. "What for?"

"Spoilers," laughed Eleven. "Anyway, she never finds out that I've already gone to the party. But, the more of me, the merrier, right?" Eleven glanced down at Ten's apparel and nodded approvingly. "Love the bowtie, by the way."

Ten rolled his eyes. "Oh, you would. I look like a waiter."

"A very handsome waiter, if it's any consolation."

Ten looked at Eleven and crossed his arms, hesitating for only a moment before he asked, "Why does this keep happening?"

"Hm?"

"This," he elaborated, gesturing to them both. "Isn't this… against the rules? Shouldn't the universe… I don't know, explode?"

"I'm rather grateful that it hasn't, yet," remarked the older Time Lord. "But I've long since stopped questioning it."

"How come?"

"Well, the first time I met you, I was fretting about everywhere, checking readings and trying to avoid as much contact with you as possible-" Eleven frowned and Ten tried and failed to suppress a snort. "- and I was trying to figure out a way to fix things. But then, you…" Eleven's eyes glazed over in what seemed to Ten to be fondness.

"I…?"

Quickly, Eleven shook his head. "Sorry, mate; spoilers. You'll figure it out when you get there."

Ten pouted. "You're awfully fond of that word."

With a grin, Eleven clapped him on the shoulder. "We learned it from someone in a very similar predicament. Time travel; makes relationships so difficult."

"Is that what this is?" asked Ten, eyes unreadable. "Are we…?"

They both stared at each other, neither willing to continue or answer the question. Then, Eleven grabbed Ten's lapels and pulled him in, crashing their lips together in a brief, yet fierce kiss. Ten froze out of habit, berating himself for not reacting when Eleven quickly pulled away.

"Does that answer your question, Doctor…?" Eleven breathed, still only inches away from the face that he used to have. Ten nodded slowly.

Eleven glanced past him and gave a sad smile. "Miss Donna Noble approaches. That's my cue."

He began to walk away. Ten almost called out after him, but Donna caught up admirably fast, and by the time she began chatting away, Eleven had been obscured by the crowd of party-goers.


Five

Eleven had donned another new outfit by the time Ten saw him next. Gone was the brown tweed jacket, the 'professor' look. Now he more resembled a Victorian gentleman, dressed in a purple overcoat and grey waistcoat. A gold watch chain hung from the buttons of the waistcoat, and, not that Ten was surprised, a patterned bowtie completed the look.

They were on an uninhabited planet, though they both knew it would not remain that way for long; settlers would come, and in a few hundred years, the very spot they were standing in would one day be a shopping mall. But, for now, it was peaceful meadow full of emerald-colored grass.

"Nice outfit," Ten complimented, moving to sit down besides the older Time Lord.

Eleven smiled. "You should see the TARDIS."

"I'd love to."

"Yeah, no."

Ten laughed, leaning back against the grass. "Let me guess...?"

Eleven's response was exactly what he expected: "Spoilers." When he turned his head to look at Eleven, he saw the elder Doctor smirking at him.

"Alright, alright," he relented. "Anyway… What brings you to the future site of the Gavakant Outlet Mall?"

"Just getting some peace and quiet," said Eleven. "You?"

"Same. Should've known I'd run into myself here."

"It's not our fault. The universe is the one that didn't explode the first time we met. Now we keep pushing the limits."

Eleven looked down, seeing Ten flat on his back, the grass bending underneath his pinstriped suit.

Ten smiled absently. "Would it be a spoiler if I asked you to tell me how far we've 'pushed' said limits?"

The elder Time Lord paused thoughtfully. "No, I suppose not. But I'd rather show you."

Before Ten could ask what he meant, Eleven's lips had descended on his, a pale hand cupping his cheek. This time, however, Ten readily reciprocated, one hand curling around Eleven's neck to pull him in closer. Then, in a quick, fluid movement, Ten flipped them over. Eleven's back hit the grass as he gasped, breaking the kiss.

Jade green eyes looked up at the younger brown. "I take it you know what happens next…?"

Ten grinned, hand creeping up to Eleven's bowtie with malicious intent.

"Oh, yes."

"Well then, Doctor…" Eleven wrapped his legs around his past incarnation's waist, hands coming up to his tie. "Allons-y."


One

It had finally happened.

Ten stood in a daze, in a TARDIS that was not his own, as Eleven ran around the console, eyes panicked and fingers a blur. He was once again in his brown tweed jacket, which flared out behind him as he moved wildly about, hitting switches and buttons and levers. He was murmuring to himself, words coming out at a mile a minute.

"This isn't possible, it just isn't possible!" Every now and again he would dare to look at Ten, who stared at him with equal astonishment, though the reasons for his shock were quite different. Eleven hopped down the stairs and stopped just short of Ten's personal space.

"How did- Why- I mean…?" he tried desperately, unable to form a complete thought, let alone sentence.

Ten blinked a few times, collecting himself. "So… First time for you, yeah?"

"... What?"

"I thought so…" Brushing past his future self, Ten calmly made his way to the console and let his hands hover over the controls. "I can get us out of this."

"Wait," called Eleven as he ran back up the stairs. "This has happened before?"

"Yep."

"But I don't remember!"

"It's timey-wimey," he said dismissively. "I don't think you will remember till it happens to you. And for whatever reason, the universe seems to allow this."

"But… It's not right." Eleven frowned, eyebrows hopelessly raised. "Every single law of the Time Lords- of the universe- say that this shouldn't happen ever, let alone multiple times."

Ten threw a wink in Eleven's direction, startling the older Time Lord. "Some laws just get broken, eh, Doctor?"

"But…!" Eleven began pacing the floor. "How did it even start? I was minding my own business, flying the TARDIS, and then suddenly you show up- wait, did you have the shields down? You know what happens when we do that! Or, wait, do you? I don't know what's happened to you and what hasn't. Where are you right now? Rose? Martha? Donna? What about Liz One?" Eleven was walking back towards Ten, probably not even realizing he was doing it, until he was touching shoulders with the pinstriped Doctor. "Hold on, you've been through this already, right? Or you at least know what happens."

"Actually," interrupted Ten, "I don't. Not really. You wouldn't tell me."

"Oh… That does sound like me, though." Eleven turned around and leaned against the console. He already seemed much calmer. "So… What do we usually do when this happens?"

Ten quirked a smile. "Spoilers."

Eleven made a face. "Oh, you sound just like River… Don't tell me she got to me that early…"

Ten didn't know who River Song was (yet), but he laughed quietly at Eleven's reaction. "Really, Doctor, you're just gonna have to find out for yourself. Like me."

"Well, can't I have a hint?" Eleven asked a bit petulantly, leaning closer into Ten's side. "I don't like to be unprepared when it comes to paradoxical meetups with my past self. If they're going to happen, at least give me an idea of what goes on."

Ten sighed, turning from the console to tiredly remind Eleven that he couldn't, when a thought came to his head. A grin slid across his face and he moved closer to Eleven. The bowtie-adorned man didn't step back, as he only watched Ten curiously. Ten's hand came up and cupped his cheek, and before the older Time Lord could ask what he was doing, he pressed his lips softly against Eleven's. Ten felt him tense up, freezing like a Weeping Angel caught by a wayward stare. He merely kept his lips on his, not moving or pushing further.

Finally, after what seemed like hours (though in reality, it was just under thirty seconds), Ten pulled away, smirking smugly at Eleven's stunned expression.

"Is that a good enough hint?" he asked teasingly.

Eleven gaped. "I… Oh."

"Right, think you've had enough for today." Ten pushed a button. "I'll see you later, Doctor."

Eleven raised his hand in an awkward sort of goodbye, as Ten dematerialized right before his eyes. The younger Time Lord once again found himself in his own TARDIS. He walked over to the pilot's seat and plopped down, expression thoughtful.

"Five to him," he said aloud, to no one in particular, "and one to me." A grin slid across his face.

He was going to have a lot of fun evening out the score.

(Of course, when the tally reached 37-Eleven and 38-Ten, the younger Doctor eventually forgot to keep track, and merely went along with the motions like the universe intended.)


*sings unashamedly to Oops, I Did it Again*