Title: A Sorta Fairytale
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 16, substituted for 4
Prompt: 2, Fairy Tale -- substituted for 14, Costumes
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.

***

The Doctor closed the book he'd been looking at amongst Ianto's book collection, smiling as he put it back neatly in its place along with the others. It surprised him a bit that his lover kept a children's book of fairy tales in with his others.

Still, weren't those fairy tales meant more for adults than for children? he pondered, his brow creasing as he tried to remember their contents. He was familiar with those Earth stories, having read them before, but it had been a long time since he had.

Some of them had always seemed a bit frightening to him; if he was the parent of a small child, he wasn't sure that he would want his son or daughter reading about some of the things that the Brothers Grimm had set forth in their stories.

But those fairy tales were a staple of Earth literature, he reminded himsefl, and even with the darker nature of some of them, they were well-loved. The versions that Ianto had were of the Hans Christian Anderson variety, lighter than the ones the Doctor remembered.

Why did Ianto keep fairy tales in with his more adult-oriented books? He'd have to remember to ask -- and borrow the book to read at some point.

There was something endearing about the way his lover had these flashes of childlike innocence in him, the Doctor thought with a smile. It was sweet to know that there was still a part of Ianto that had the tendency to cling to things from his childhood.

He himself had long ago renounced those things, but there was still a part of him that retained a certain childlike innocence. Maybe it was because he felt that there was always so much to see in the world, so much good that he hadn't witnessed yet.

In spite of all the things he'd seen so many races in the galaxy do to each other, he still believed that the universe was a beautiful place. Yes, there were some races that were evil, but there were others who more than made up for that.

After all, he told himself philosophically, life was double-sided. You couldn't have great beauty without ugliness, great happiness without sorrow, or dark without light. There were two sides to every coin; one couldn't exist without the other to balance it.

Ianto was apparently trying to balance his life, even in the books he read, including a volume of fairy tales along with the other books on the shelf.

He didn't turn his head as he heard his lover come into the room; Ianto moved behind him, placing one hand on his shoulder. The other man bent his head to kiss the Doctor's throat, one arm sliding around the Time Lord's slender waist.

"If you want to read anything I have, you're more than welcome to," Ianto said softly, his eyes moving over the books on the shelf. "There are a few that I haven't read yet myself. But help yourself to any of my books, Doctor. What's mine is yours."

The Doctor nodded, turning his head slightly to smile at the man he loved. "I was looking at your book of fairy tales," he said, stretching out his hand to remove the book from the shelf again. "It doesn't seem like something you'd be interested in reading."

Ianto took the book from him, opening it with a smile. "I've had this since I was a child. I've always kept it in good condition -- I was taught that books are precious things, and that they'll wrap you in wonder and take you away to different worlds if you care for them wisely."

"Your mother told you that, didn't she?" the Doctor asked, feeling his throat tighten. He knew how much Mrs. Jones loved her son, even if she didn't always show it.

The younger man nodded, biting his lip. "Yes. She's always loved to read, and she instilled a love of books in me. This one in particular was always special, because it did indeed sweep me off to new and exciting worlds when I needed them the most."

"I know you miss her, Ianto," the Doctor said softly, placing his hand over the younger man's. "If you like, we can go to visit her any time. I'm not going to hold you back from that. I actually quite liked your mother when we met."

Ianto shook his head, a frown on his face. "No, that's not a good idea at the moment. I'll have to find out when my father won't be at home, and visit her then. I don't want to cause a row between them by being there when he's at home."

The Doctor sighed, nodding and wishing that things could be different. The fact that his father didn't accept who he was had been one of the things about Ianto's life he'd wanted to have some effect on, but he knew that was impossible.

Still, they were together, even though odds had been stacked against them. And Ianto's mother accepted their relationship, even if his father never would.

"Do you know why I keep that book?" Ianto asked him, abruptly changing the subject. The Doctor shook his head, relieved to see that a small smile was breaking through the shadow that had seemed to settle over Ianto's handsome features.

"Because I want to believe in fairy tales," Ianto told him, his voice barely audible, but full of the gentle warmth that the Doctor had come to expect from his lover. "Because my life with you is so much like one of those fairy tales -- only infinitely better."

"Meeting you was a bit like a fairy tale for me," the Doctor murmured, his voice soft and reminiscent. "I'd spent so long thinking that I would never find my soul mate, the person I was meant to be with -- and then you came into my life."

"You're a fairy tale come true," Ianto said, putting the book back into its place on the shelf and wrapping both arms around the Doctor's waist, pulling the other man against him. "You're my Prince Charming, Doctor. Only instead of a coach, you have a Tardis."

"And I won't make you shove your foot into a glass slipper, either," the Doctor told him, his dark eyes sparkling with merriment.

"That's definitely a good thing," Ianto said, chuckling as he hugged the Doctor close. "If that slipper happened to break, the cuts could be awfully nasty. And my feet aren't exactly meant to be shown off encased in glass. I don't think anyone would want to look at them."

"The coachmen wouldn't be handy to have around," the Doctor managed to say, lifting a hand to his mouth to stifle a giggle. "The Tardis wouldn't appreciate having mice running around. She'd be rather unhappy with the entire situation."

"I think we're much better off making our own fairy tale," Ianto said softly, gazing into the Doctor's eyes before bending his head to press his lips against the Time Lord's. As their lips met, the Doctor's only thought was that he couldn't agree more.

***