So the Doctor drank, brandy minus the tea, as Jack told him about Torchwood, his newfound immortality, being immune to mind reading and mental suggestion but able to broadcast telepathically, not needing sleep. The Doctor's frown deepened the more Jack spoke. When he finished the Doctor sighed and paced the room for a moment before he stopped and sighed again.
"I suspected this would happen."
"What?" Jack asked.
"The TARDIS energy has changed you."
Jack laughed. "I thought I had just established that, Doctor."
"It's turned you into a human equivalent of a Time Lord."
All the color drained from Jack's face. "What?"
The Doctor gently pressed him back into the sofa and sat close to him. "Everything you've just described, save not regenerating when you die, are Time Lord traits. That energy was harnessed eons ago by Rassilon, the greatest Time Lord my people ever knew."
"I thought you were the greatest Time Lord your people ever knew," Jack quipped feebly, and the Doctor managed a smile.
"I wish I could tell you what else you've got in store from this, Jack. But I can't. Because I don't know. This never happened before in all the history of my people."
"Why have I always gotta be the first?" Jack groaned.
The Doctor shrugged. "Luck?"
"I'm not sure right now what a lucky man I am or not, Doctor," Jack said. "Dying isn't fun, you know. Even if you do come back."
"I know," the Doctor said simply.
Another silence. "So," Jack said, desperately wanting to lighten the mood. "This new body… it's pretty hot."
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Is it?"
Jack nodded. "Definitely. Major points on the hotness scale."
A grin this time. "Yours is looking as good as ever."
"I know."
"So modest."
"Honest."
The Doctor realized suddenly that he was feeling a bit warm. Jack's body heat radiated into him like a summer sun. The conversation was taking a decidedly sexual turn, and he wasn't sure yet how he felt about that. Before he could make a joke or start nervous chattering, Jack leaned over and reversed their roles, pressing the Doctor back into the sofa and gently pinning him with his body. The Doctor gulped.
"Have you ever been with another Time Lord?" Jack asked softly.
A memory of Iris rushed through the Doctor like a river, then flowed away. "Once. Long ago."
"That's kind of a relative term for you, isn't it?"
The Doctor laughed nervously. Jack pressed against him a little harder, moving his lips to the Doctor's ear. "Want to find out what it's like with the human version?"
The Doctor cleared his throat. "Jack…"
"Oh, don't you dare, Doctor," Jack ordered. "Don't you even fucking dare to tell me you don't feel something."
The Doctor grabbed Jack's hand and put it where actions could speak louder than words, then moved it away. "Did that seem like I don't feel anything, Captain?"
"Then what's your damage, Doctor?" Jack countered.
"Just because we want each other doesn't mean we should act on it," the Doctor said.
"Why not? Aren't you sick of it?" Jack demanded, holding the Doctor in place and pressing his mouth to his neck, feeling the pulse leap beneath his lips like a startled animal.
"Sick of what?" the Doctor managed, trying not to moan as Jack kissed his neck.
"Of being so aloof. Of keeping everyone out. Of never being alone but always being alone. Never telling anyone how you feel, how much they mean to you until it's too late." He paused to trace the Doctor's ear lightly with his tongue, felt a surge of satisfaction as the Doctor shivered, and continued. "I'm here to tell you, I just found this out the very hard way. It sucks. And I'm done with it. And you should be too."
"I-"
"Yes, you can," Jack said firmly. "You're the bravest being I've ever met, except with your heart."
"Hearts," the Doctor corrected without thinking.
"Whatever. My point is… let go of it before it destroys you."
Silence filled the library, punctuated every few seconds by Jack's murmurs and the Doctor's gasps. After what seemed like forever the Doctor lifted his head and looked at Jack.
"I'd rather never do this… than lose you as a friend."
Jack's eyes burned like blue fire. "You won't."
The Doctor nodded and exhaled. "Well, then, call me old-fashioned, but I'd like to do this properly."
He stood up, pulled Jack to his feet, and led him to the bedroom.
