Title: Emotions Ring
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 4 10_hurt_comfort
Prompt: 5, Emotion
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 glanced up at the Doctor from where he sat on the couch, a frown marring his brow. The Time Lord had been unusually quiet for the past day or so, and Ianto had no idea what could have happened to cause such reticence in his lover.

The anniversary of the day that Gallifrey had been destroyed was long past; he might have expected the Doctor to have some residual melancholy about that, but not this long after the date. And he had seemed fine for the past couple of weeks.

No, there had to be something new that was bothering the Time Lord. And Ianto intended to find out what it was, even if he had to ask some questions that might be deemed a little intrusive. After all, he had the right to know.

He was the Doctor's lover, wasn't he? They were more than just lovers or companions -- they were soul mates. Whatever was causing the Doctor to worry, he wanted to know about it. He wanted a chance to soothe his lover, to help him in any way that he could.

Clearing his throat, he tried to catch the Doctor's attention, not sure what he would say when he spoke. When the other man looked up at him, a questioning expression on his face, Ianto hesitated, not sure exactly how to formulate what he wanted to ask.

He'd felt a worry nagging at the back of his mind for the past few days, and perhaps this was the cause of it -- the fact that the Doctor didn't seem to be moving past his grief for Gallifrey. He couldn't put his finger on just why he was worried, but maybe that was the explanation.

"Doctor, is anything wrong?" he finally said, knowing that his words would probably only be met with a denial, a small smile, and a shake of the Time Lord's head. It was never a good idea to ask the Doctor such an open-ended question.

To his surprise, the Doctor didn't give him the expected answer. Instead, the Time Lord leaned back in his chair, putting aside the book that he'd been reading -- or, as Ianto suspected, only pretending to read. He sighed softly, shaking his head as he spoke.

"I'm sorry, Ianto. I didn't mean to make you worry about me," he said softly, his dark gaze locked on his young lover's face. "I just have a lot on my mind lately. I can't seem to shake the feeling that the Master is somewhere near -- and I didn't want to say anything to you about it just yet."

Ianto's frown matched the Doctor's now; the Master wasn't someone he liked to think about, but there were times when discussion of the renegade Time Lord was unavoidable. "What do you mean, you have a feeling about him? Like a sixth sense?"

The Doctor sighed again, nodding slowly and looking contemplative. "I can't put the feeling into words. It's just a -- a sort of premonition I have whenever he's near, or whenever I feel that he's planning some new mischief. That feeling has rarely ever been wrong."

"So what can we do as far as finding out if he's anywhere near?" Ianto asked, his voice betraying his sudden worry. "Forewarned is forearmed, as they say, and the next time we have to tangle with him, we'd better be prepared."

"I don't know." The Doctor spread his hands out in front of him in a helpless gesture that Ianto wasn't familiar with. He'd seen other people do that -- but not the Doctor. The Time Lord always seemed to have ways of dealing with any situation.

Ianto realized with a jolt that his own thoughts had been moving along the same track as the Doctor's -- that unnamed worry that had been assailing him over the past few days that he hadn't quite been able to put a name to was a feeling that the Master was somewhere near.

His emotions had been running high ever since the Doctor had been dealing with his grief for his home planet; he'd thought that they were still too near the surface, that they were spilling over more than he wanted them to, and that he needed to push them down.

But these were a whole new spectrum of emotions other than sympathy for the man he loved. These emotions encompassed worry, doubt -- and not a little fear, after the encounters he'd already had with the Master since he'd been with the Time Lord.

"I know you're worried, Ianto," the Doctor said, his tone soft and a little regretful. "I've been able to sense what you're feeling, you know. I haven't probed into your mind, because that's intrusive -- but when I'm as close to someone as I am to you, I can sense their emotions."

"And I think that my emotions ring out loud and clear on this topic," Ianto sighed, nodding. "It doesn't bother me that you can sense how I feel, love. In fact, it's comforting to know that you can. I like knowing that you can sense what I feel without me having to explain it to you."

"If you concentrate, I'm sure that you can sense what I'm feeling, too," the Doctor told him, reaching out a hand to the young man. "Our bond should let you do that. You shouldn't even have to touch me, though it might help to strengthen what you're sensing."

Ianto reached out to take the Doctor's hand, wondering if what the Time Lord said was true. When their fingers touched, he could almost feel a jolt go through him; it was almost as if the Doctor's feelings were reaching out for him, sinking into him and twining them together.

The Doctor's emotions were indeed ringing out loud and clear -- now that he was focused on sensing them. The other man was more worried than Ianto had ever known him to be, except at times when they'd been in a bad situation.

And his worry was all for Ianto, not for himself. All of his fears were for the safety of his lover, rather than having any concern for keeping himself protected, despite the fact that the Master would invariably focus attention on him.

"Your emotions ring out so loudly," he murmured, knowing that the Doctor was probably waiting for him to say something. "Is it because of our bond?" He knew that he didn't need to ask the question, but he wanted confirmation from the Time Lord's lips.

"Yes, I think so," the other man murmured, reluctantly drawing his hand away. "Can you feel those emotions just as clearly when you're not touching me?" His tone was still slightly worried, but Ianto was almost sure that he could detect a trace of relief in his voice.

He nodded, a smile forming on his lips. "Yes, I can," he said, a sense of wonder sweeping over him. He'd had no idea that his bond with the Doctor was this strong; he'd known that he loved the Time Lord more than he'd ever loved anyone, but he hadn't expected this kind of a connection.

"That means that whenever either of us is in trouble, the other will feel it," the Doctor told him, and this time Ianto could hear the relief in his tone. "I've never had that sort of a bond with anyone before, Ianto. You're the first, in all the years of my life."

"I'm honoured to be the first person you've had that kind of a bond with," Ianto whispered, reaching for the Time Lord's hand again. He brought that thin hand to his lips, brushing his fingers across the Doctor's knuckles, then turning his hand over and pressing a gentle kiss to the palm.

"No one else has ever been able to sense my emotions -- not in the way that you do," the Doctor told him, his voice husky in Ianto's ears. It was obvious that the Time Lord was deeply touched by the strength of the bond that existed between them.

"And no one else has ever opened themselves to me in the way that you have," Ianto told him, smiling as he stood up and tightened his grip on the Doctor's hand, pulling the Time Lord to his feet. "Or known me as well as you do."

He wrapped his arms around the Doctor's waist, closing his eyes as their lips met. He could feel the Time Lord's emotions even more strongly in that kiss -- and he was sure that the rush of his own emotion was ringing out just as clearly to the man he loved.

***