"And I, you." Saying words like 'I love you' weren't easy for the Doctor, and even working around them with simple affirmaions were difficult. But with Jack, maybe it was their equally repressed romantic sides, but he felt like his companion could understand half-responses where others might not.

And he did love him. Which was frustrating in its own right, because the Doctor was never one to pick one person, much less settle down and consider what they did a relationship. But with Jack, here he was, slowly untucking his undershirt and trying to figure out how to put that sentiment into words.

Of course, as Occam's Razor often pointed out, the simplest answer was often the correct one.

"Just the way you are," he said. "Because that's who I want."