Title: Beauty To My Eyes
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 25fluffyfics
Prompt: 21, Sunset
Author's note: Slight spoilers for the Torchwood episode Countrycide.
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own Ianto Jones or the Tenth Doctor. Please do not sue.

***

Ianto rested his chin on his knees as he gazed across the vista that spread out before him. The Tardis was only a few feet away, he reminded himself; he could run back into the safety of the ship if he felt that there was any sort of threat. He wasn't out here by himself.

He winced as the memories of the last time he'd been in the country came back to him; that had been the worst nightmare of his life. He was still plagued by terrible dreams once in a while, dreams where he hadn't escaped the cannibals who'd tried to kill him.

Those dreams seemed so real when he was in a place like this, even though he and the Doctor weren't on Earth at the moment, this kind of pastoral scene still made him feel that there was a dark underbelly to the beauty he was seeing.

He took a deep breath, trying to make himself relax. Those cannibals had been sent to jail. They were no longer roaming the countryside to harm innocent people, and he wasn't anywhere near the place where he'd almost become a dinner entreé.

But the memories weren't that easy to push aside. The Doctor understood his hesitation to be in any place that reminded him of that time, but the Time Lord insisted that he needed to try to get past that phobia, so he would be able to enjoy scenes like this without fear marring them.

His lover was right, Ianto conceded silently, but it wasn't easy to put those memories into the back of his mind. The nightmares he still suffered from now and then kept the experience fresh, even though it had happened some time ago.

He turned his head as he heard a sound behind him, smiling as the Doctor exited the Tardis and came towards him. The Time Lord sank down onto the blanket behind Ianto, letting the young man lean back against him and wrapping thin arms around his waist.

"This is different," Ianto remarked, resting his head against his lover's shoulder and trying to make his body relax into that warm embrace. "I'm usually the one holding you, not the other way around. I have to admit, I like changing it up once in a while."

"Well, I like holding you," the Doctor said, one hand threading gently through the dark strands of Ianto's hair. "Especially when I know that something bothers you, and I'm trying to help you get past it. I know what it's like to want to be held and comforted in that situation."

"I wish I wasn't so jumpy about that," Ianto murmured, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I'm a grown man. I should have been over that ages ago -- but every time I'm in the countryside, I still feel so .... exposed. So helpless. Like I don't know what's going to happen next."

"We're not on Earth," the Doctor reminded him, the Time Lord's voice soft and soothing in his ear. "We aren't anywhere near the place where that happened. And I'm here with you, Ianto. Nothing's going to happen to you. You're safe, love."

"I know," Ianto replied, turning his head slightly to nuzzle his cheek against the Doctor's. "I know we're not on Earth, and I know you'd never let anything hurt me. I hope I'll get past those memories one day, Doctor. I'm trying. I really am."

"I hope this might make you feel more at ease," the Doctor murmured, one arm tightening around Ianto's waist while he pointed with the other hand at the horizon. "Watch. The sunsets here are magnificent -- and different from what you've seen before on Earth."

Ianto turned his attention to the horizon, watching as the red sun in the sky of the planet they were on sank lower and lower. The colors starting to streak across the sky were beautiful -- first a pale gold, turning to iridescent orange, then a deep red.

He watched in silence as the colors continued to change, his eyes taking in the brilliance of the sunset spread out in front of him. He'd seen some lovely sunsets on Earth, but there had never been one as breathtaking as this. This was truly the definition of beauty to anyone's eyes.

The sky had transformed to a deep rose hue, and was now lightening to a pale petal pink. Ianto found himself swallowing hard; he'd seen a lot of things in his life that he would term beautiful, but nothing that had moved him as much as the magnificence of this sunset.

If he stayed away from the countryside all of his life, he'd never witness anything like this. Oh, he could view a sunset from the safety of a building, without ever having to set foot outside the concrete canyons of a city. But it wouldn't be the same.

The Doctor knew that; it had to be why the Time Lord had brought him here and wanted him to see the glorious sight that filled his vision now. His lover wanted to show him what he would be missing if he let his fears take him over and keep him from enjoying life.

The sunset was turning to a royal purple hue; Ianto felt as though his senses couldn't take any more of that kind of beauty. He closed his eyes with a soft sigh, resting his head back against the Doctor's shoulder and feeling the Time Lord's hand stroke through his hair again.

"It's lovely, isn't it?" the Doctor murmured in his ear, his own gaze still fixed on the sunset. "You can't let your fears cut you off from that kind of beauty forever, Ianto. You can't be afraid to step away from those fears. And you can't constantly worry about them following you."

Ianto nodded, swallowing hard. He owed the Doctor so much; not only had this man taken him away from a life that, if he was honest with himself, he hadn't been completely happy in -- but he'd given Ianto his hearts and his soul with no reservations.

The Doctor hadn't held back anything of himself. He had his own fears; Ianto had seen ample evidence of that. But he hadn't let them keep him from stepping forward into life, from exploring different places, from experiencing everything that he possibly could.

And he'd chosen Ianto to share those experiences with. The least he could do to repay the trust and love that the Doctor gave him was to try his best to put his fears behind him, to push them away firmly and refuse to let them control him.

"No more running from my fears," Ianto said softly, opening his eyes to fix his gaze on a sky that had now shifted to deepest indigo velvet, a few pinpricks of silver stars already starting to twinkle in the expanse of the heavens. "I won't let them lock me away from this kind of beauty again."

"I'll be right here beside you when you're ready to face them head-on," the Time Lord told him, pulling Ianto closer against the warmth of his body. Abruptly changing the subject, he pointed to the sky. "Look at that star there, the brightest one just over the treetops. I know that star."

Ianto focused his attention on where the Doctor was pointing, listening to the Time Lord's soft words in his ear. His lover's gentle voice and the beauty of the night sky blended to create a sense of calm and security that he'd never felt before -- one that he hoped would last for a very long time.

***