Title: Collision Course
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1, fanfic50
Prompt: 49, Collide
Author's Note: Slight spoilers for the Torchwood episode Cyberwoman.
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 stretched out in bed, sighing contentedly and looking down at the man in his arms. The Doctor's head was resting on his shoulder; the Time Lord didn't seem to be in the mood to talk, preferring to simply lie here next to his lover quietly.

There were so many things he always wanted to say to the Doctor after sex, Ianto reflected, but he'd found that he didn't need to voice the words aloud. The Time Lord always knew how he felt; those feelings were reflected in the other man's dual hearts.

The bond between them grew stronger with each passing day. He might not have the Doctor's ability of telepathy, but he could literally sense what the man he loved was feeling; it was as though the Time Lord's emotions reached for him.

Having that ability with anyone else might have bothered him at one point in his life, Ianto thought, his fingers stroking absently through the Doctor's hair. But with the Doctor, it simply felt right, as though he was meant to be able to sense those emotions.

What would he have done if their paths hadn't converged? He didn't want to think about that. He would never have known what it was like to love someone as completely as he loved the Doctor; he'd never have learned how to give his heart and soul with no reservations.

He had thought that he'd already done that -- first with Lisa, and then with Jack. But what he'd felt for them couldn't touch the bond he had with the Doctor; he'd loved them, yes, but it hadn't been the kind of all-consuming love that he had now.

There had been a time when his life had seemed aimless; he'd been drifting through life, not really sure of what he wanted to do. He'd been rudderless, with no direction. Then Canary Wharf had happened -- and his life had been given a purpose.

He'd wanted to save Lisa. That was the main reason he'd literally begged Jack to make him a member of the Torchwood team that he led -- and he'd achieved that objective. He'd slipped into Torchwood as effortlessly as though he'd always been there.

But he hadn't been able to save her. That dream had died, and it had taken him a while to get over what had happened. Fortunately, he'd had Jack there to help him -- even though a part of him had taken a very long time to forgive Jack for her death.

Still, he'd managed to do that. There had been no way that he could have turned back the clock; what he'd had with Lisa when they'd first been together would never have been the same, even if he'd been able to reverse what the Cybermen had done to her.

He'd thrown himself into his relationship with Jack because of that; the immortal had been his first male lover, and he'd discovered a lot about himself during the time they'd been together. Jack had helped him to heal, and he would always be grateful for that opportunity.

But the two of them had known from the beginning that what they had wouldn't last. He'd been naive enough to hope that it would, even though his more practical self had known that it wasn't possible. He would only open himself to more hurt if he'd kept believing that.

So he'd let Jack go, even though it had been the hardest thing he'd ever done in his entire life. It had been even harder than watching Lisa die; nothing had torn at his heart as much as knowing that what he and Jack had shared was over forever.

A small smile crossed his features as he thought of all that had happened to him since he and Jack had ended their relationship. The end of what they'd been had put him on a collision course with the Doctor -- a course that he wouldn't have turned back from even if he'd been able to.

Jack had been the one to point him in the Doctor's direction, which had surprised him. He'd thought that the immortal would want to rekindle his own relationship with the Time Lord, but he'd been glad to find out that hadn't been the case.

The Doctor had fascinated him right from the beginning, from the first time their hands had touched and their eyes had met. He'd known that this man would be someone special to him, someone who he could happily spend the rest of his life with.

And apparently the Time Lord had felt the same, Ianto thought, his smile widening. This man had seen the collision course that the two of them were on -- and he'd run headlong into it, with his arms and his hearts wide open.

Had anyone else ever been that way with him at the start of a relationship? Ianto didn't think so. But then, no one he'd ever been with before had been quite like the Doctor; no one had the Time Lord's way of looking at the relationship they would share.

He hadn't seemed surprised that the two of them had collided in the way that they had; even though he knew that the Doctor didn't look at his own future, he couldn't help thinking that the Gallifreyan had somehow known that they would be together.

It didn't matter to him if the Doctor had been certain about their relationship from the beginning. All that was important to him was that they were together, and that they would stay that way, with their bond growing and strengthening every day.

The Doctor shifted his position slightly in Ianto's arms, tilting his head back to look up at the young man who held him so tenderly in a warm embrace. "What are you thinking about, love?" he asked, his voice soft and husky.

Ianto didn't hesitate before answering the question, his own tone just as soft and loving as the Doctor's had been. "Us, sweetheart. I'm thinking about us -- and the way that we happened to collide with each other at a time when we both needed it."

The other man nodded, resting his head against Ianto's shoulder again with a contented sigh. "I don't believe in fate," he said, his tone thoughtful. "But it just might be some sort of kismet that threw the two of us together. We certainly found each other at the right time."

"Yes, we did," Ianto agreed, his arm tightening around the Time Lord's slim waist. "We collided at the perfect moment -- and that collision has been the best thing that's ever happened to me. I don't regret it in any way, and I never will."

"Neither do I," the Doctor told him, his thin arms sliding around the young man as he curled himself more comfortably against Ianto's side. "I didn't expect to collide with you -- but now that I have, this is where I want to stay."

Ianto echoed that sentiment in his mind and in his heart, bowing his head just as the Time Lord raised his face from his shoulder for a kiss. As their lips met, Ianto couldn't help thinking that this was another collision for the two of them -- one that he intended to enjoy to the fullest.

***