Title: Burning Bright
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 3, 50ficlets
Prompt: 1, Warmth
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.

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The Doctor leaned back in his chair, resting his feet on top of the console even though he knew that the Tardis didn't like him doing so. He crossed his arms behind his head, looking up at the ceiling, the picture of relaxed contentment.

Life was good at the moment. Not only had he managed to stay out of trouble for a good while, but he had someone in his life now -- someone who was not only a companion, but much more. Someone who he hadn't thought he would ever find.

He'd given up on having a soul mate. He'd never thought that he would find anyone who would be willing to bond with him on the level that he needed -- or someone who he would feel was the person he wanted to make that sacred bond with.

Least of all a human. Jack was the only person who'd ever come close, and yet he'd known when he was involved with Jack that the two of them weren't meant for each other. There had been an inner voice telling him that the immortal wasn't the person he was meant for.

He'd loved Jack, but there had always been a part of him that held back from the other man. There had been a sense that it wasn't the right time, that this man wasn't the one who would nestle into his soul and fit there like a missing puzzle piece.

And that voice had been entirely right. He'd known that when Jack had made the decision to walk away from him, to return to his work with Torchwood on Earth. Even though that decision had hurt, he had to admit that Jack had done the right thing for both of them.

If Jack hadn't turned away from him, then he wouldn't have Ianto. The smile on his face grew as he thought of the other man. Ianto could always make him smile, the space around his hearts that had held a coldness for so long warming at the thought of his lover.

Ianto Jones had been a revelation in his life. He'd grown so used to thinking that he was destined to be alone that finding his soul mate in a very unlikely place had been a shock to him; he hadn't quite been able to believe at firs that Ianto was the one.

But those doubts had quickly fled as he'd spent some time with the young man; he and Ianto had fit together as though they'd always been meant to be. Ianto had slipped into his life as though he'd always been there, his place assured and waiting for him.

There was a warmth about Ianto that had melted the icy barriers the Doctor had been busily building around his heart from the first moment they'd met. There were no walls up against Ianto; he had torn them all down in a matter of minutes.

That kind of trust didn't come easily -- not to him. It was strange to feel so comfortable with someone he barely knew, but he'd had the instinctive feeling that he could trust this man with his life from the first smile, the first handshake, the murmured greeting.

The warmth in Ianto emanated outward to surround him and envelop him, drawing him inexorably into the young man's orbit. He didn't want to pull away from that warmth; rather, he wanted to curl into it, to let it fill his hearts in every way.

He'd never felt that kind of warmth from Jack, or from any other companion he'd ever had. He'd never felt it from another lover, either. It was something that was uniquely Ianto, a warmth that could reach out to him and wrap him safely inside its protection.

At first, he had been like a moth attracted to the flame of that warmth, reaching out cautiously, afraid that he would be burned to a cinder. But it hadn't taken long for him to grow bolder, circling the flame more and more closely before finally letting the warmth surround him.

To his surprise, it hadn't scorched him. It had merely kept him comfortable and warm, keeping him safe in a cocoon that had felt more like home than any other place he'd ever been. He'd quickly let that warmth become his home, trusting in it completely.

That warmth would never burn him. It would burn brightly and guide him to where he needed to be; it would warm him when he stretched out his hands to it, keep him safe when he needed to be protected, wrap itself around him when he needed its comfort.

Ianto had so much warmth and love in him, and that love was directed at him. He'd never felt such warmth emanating towards him from any other person; it was the kind of love he'd always searched for and never dared to hope that he would ever find.

The warmth would always burn brightly in Ianto's heart and soul, and reach out for him to envelop him in love and safety. The Doctor had no doubt of that -- or that his own hearts would return that warmth with as much fervor as it had been given.

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