Title: Chances Are
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 5, 50episodes
Prompt: 9, Chance
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.

***

"Have you ever thought that our first meeting was left entirely to chance?" Ianto asked the Doctor, looking over to where the Time Lord was lounging against the console. "After all, we might never have met at all -- there was so much circumstance involved."

The Doctor looked up at the ceiling of the Tardis, musing over Ianto's question. After a few long moments, he shook his head, his gaze focusing on the young man sitting on the couch across the room. "No, I don't think it was all circumstance. Look at how we met."

"But it could so easily have never happened," Ianto protested. "I might not have been accepted onto the Torchwood team -- and if I hadn't been, I would never have met you. I'd heard of you, of course, but that didn't ensure that we'd have met."

The Doctor shook his head slowly, a small smile on his lips. "I don't believe that we'd never have met, Ianto," he said softly, his gaze focusing on his young lover. "Fate would have brought us togehter, no matter how it was done. I'll always believe that."

"So you don't think it was just chance that happened to throw us together?" Ianto had been thinking along those lines all day, and he couldn't push the notion out of his mind. "You think it was destiny or fate that brought us to each other?"

"How could I not?" The Doctor left the console, walking over to the couch and sitting down beside Ianto. "Don't these pendants prove that you and I belong together?" He held up the softly glowing opaline pendant around his neck, smiling as he did so.

Ianto's hand went to his own pendant, a smile tugging at his lips. "They prove that we're soul mates," he agreed, his fingertips stroking the polished surface. "But chances are that if I hadn't been at Torchwood, it would have taken much longer for us to find each other."

"Do you think so?" The Doctor tilted his head to the side as though he was considering those words. "I don't. I think that I would have been led to you, even if you had no idea what Torchwood was and you had never heard of me. I would have found you somehow."

"Since when did you start believing so wholeheartedly in fate?" Ianto teased, his blue-grey eyes sparkling with mischief. "I thought you had a hearty skepticism about things like that. You believe that we make our own fate, remember?"

"Ah, that was before I found out how strong fate can be," the Doctor responded, lifting his brows as if he questioned Ianto's words. "People can change their attitudes about certain things, can't they? It's not like my original opinion on the subject was written in stone."

Ianto laid a hand over his heart, leaning back against the couch cushions and laughing. "Did I acutally hear the Doctor say that his opinions can change? Fancy that! I never thought I'd see the day!" The sound of his laughter rang out through the control room.

After a few moments, the Doctor's laughter joined his. "Oh, all right, I suppose that I can be immovable sometimes when it comes to my opinions," the Time Lord admitted with a smile. "But you know, there are times when I have good reason to be."

"And meeting me was one of those times?" Ianto asked, a mischievous grin on his face. "I'm only teasing you, Doctor," he added, reaching for his boyfriend's hand. "You know that I believe in fate just as much as you do. I have to."

"Why is that?" the Time Lord asked, returning the smile and twining his fingers through Ianto's. "Simply because I do, and I've convinced you of it? Or do you have your own reasons for believing that we didn't just find each other by chance?"

"I've thought from the moment I first saw you that I was meant to be with you," Ianto said softly, his gaze not wavering from the Doctor's face. "Even after you told me that you weren't a strong believer in fate, I still thought that I was destined for you."

"It's a little odd, isn't it?" the Doctor mused, looking thoughtful. "I've become more of believer in fate as time has gone on, while you seem to have been having doubts. We've gone in the opposite direction of what we believed when we met."

"Not entirely," Ianto said, shaking his head. "I'm only contemplating what the chances are that we might never have met if I hadn't been at Torchwood. But I'm like you, Doctor. I believe that we'd still have found each other, even if Torchwood hadn't made it convenient."

"Then why didn't you say so?" the Time Lord asked, shaking an admonitory finger at Ianto. "I actually thought that you might be having some doubts about the two of us being destined! Don't scare me like that, Ianto! You know better!"

"And I know you don't mean that," Ianto told him, his own laughter joining the Doctor's. "You didn't really believe that I was having doubts. You know me too well for that -- and you know that I'd never think that I don't belong with you."

"You did at one time," the Doctor reminded him, his face clouding at the remembrance of the time the two of them had spent apart. "I don't like to bring that up -- but you were having doubts about us at the time, Ianto. Maybe I was, as well."

Ianto shook his head, his voice firm when he spoke. "No, that's not true. That wasn't either of us having doubts about our relationship. It was me being selfish, and you being stubborn. And that's never going to happen again. Not if I can help it."

"It's definitely not going to happen again," the Doctor murmured, sighing and leaning back against the cushions. "I don't think either one of us could survive being parted like that for a second time. Chances are we wouldn't make it back to each other this time around."

"We would," Ianto said softly, raising the Time Lord's hand to his lips. "How can you doubt that? No matter what happens, if you and I are ever parted again, we'll find our way back, Doctor. Nothing could keep me away from you for long."

"I hope that nothing is ever going to take you from my side again," the Doctor said, moving closer to Ianto and sliding an arm around the young man's waist. "I can't help worrying about that every time we go back to Earth, though. I feel that something might take you away."

"You can't think that I'd go back to Torchwood!" Ianto's tone was incredulous, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Don't ever think that, Doctor. I enjoyed my time with Torchwood, but that's over now. I belong here with you. I'm not going to leave, that's certain."

"Fate can play cruel tricks," the Doctor said, sighing again. "You never know what can happen. I always feel that I should be prepared for the worst -- just in case. And I always feel relieved when we're away from Earth and back amongst the stars."

"Chances are that nothing bad is going to happen any time we go back to Earth," Ianto said soothingly, squeezing the Doctor's fingers gently. "But it wouldn't hurt to be more cautious than usual when we're there, would it? Especially it it would ease your mind."

"I'm not willing to take any chances where you're concerned, love," the Doctor murmured, leaning over to press a kiss against Ianto's cheek. "Since we're on our way to Earth, we should just do what we have to do, and get away as quickly as we can."

"You're really worried about being there, aren't you?" Ianto asked, a frown creasing his forehead. "Why, Doctor? Is this some sort of odd premonition you've had, or are you just being paranoid? Nothing's going to happen. I'm sure of it."

"You mean, chances are that nothing will happen," the Doctor corrected him with a smile. "Remember, our first meeting was on Earth. And if you believe that chance played such a large part in our finding each other, then chance could play a part in anything that happens there."

"Chance plays a part in everything," Ianto said, pushing away the worries that were trying to crowd into his mind. "But you and I -- that was destiny. We could have been left to chance -- but fate had other plans for us, didn't she?"

"She did -- and I hope she doesn't leave anything up to chance in the future," the Doctor agreed, getting up from the couch and holding out a hand to his lover. Ianto stood up and moved towards the console with the Doctor, hoping that the Time Lord was right, and that their future wouldn't be left to chance.

***