Title: Secrets of the Heart
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 3, 50ficlets
Prompt: 32, Secret
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.

***

"Isn't it hard to be around people when you have to hide who you really are?" Ianto asked the Doctor as the two of them entered the Tardis and closed the door behind them. "It has to be awkward sometimes when people ask questions about you."

The Doctor sighed and nodded, making his way to the console and leaning over it. "Yes, of course it can be awkward. And there are times when I want nothing more than to tell people who and what I am. But I know that I can't. It has to stay a secret."

Ianto followed his lover into the Tardis, standing beside him at the console as the Doctor pressed a button here and there. Within seconds, he could feel the familiar time and space displacement, telling them that the Tardis had shimmered out of sight in the world they'd been in.

"I don't know that I would be as good at keeping who I am a secret as you are," Ianto mused, leaning against the console and gazing at the Time Lord. "I think I'd eventually be pushed too far -- I'd get so annoyed with people that I'd have to say something."

The Doctor laughed, glancing at Ianto and shaking his head as he moved towards the chair nearest to the console and sat down in it. "Oh, I've been tempted to do that. Many, many times -- more than I can count. And there've been times when I have."

"Oh?" Ianto raised an eyebrow, wondering when those times had been .They certainly hadn't happened since he'd been with the Doctor; the Time Lord seemed fully able to keep his composure, at least from what Ianto had seen. "When was this?"

"Many times over the centuries, in different bodies." The Doctor's voice was cautious, hesitant. That was Ianto's cue that the other man didn't really want to talk about this; he would be better off to change the subject and find something else for them to discuss.

"I wish you didn't have to keep who you are a secret," Ianto said, regret coloring his voice. "I wish every person in the universe could know who you are, and how much you've done for the world. You deserve that. It isn't fair that you don't get any recognition."

The Doctor shook his head, a small smile on his lips. "I don't need recognition, Ianto. And what would people say if you tried to tell them about me? You'd end up being put into a lunatic asylum -- and then I'd have to come and rescue you."

Ianto couldn't help laughing at those words. "Well, I suppose you're right about that," he told the Time Lord, conceding the point. "But it still doesn't seem fair to me that people can't know about you. You've done so much for them -- and they'll never know."

"It's not really my place to interfere," the Doctor said soberly, the words ending on a sigh. "That's not what Time Lords are supposed to do, you know. We're only supposed to be observers. But I can't just stand back and watch terrible things happen."

"That's what makes you better than any others of your race," Ianto said softly, his gaze fixed on the Doctor's face. "You might not think so, but you're worth all the rest of them put together. Any race that could stand by and watch another planet be decimated --"

"I had to do that, Ianto," the Doctor said, his voice barely audible. "And it was my own planet, my own people. I can't condemn the Time Lords for what they were. I'm one of them -- and even though I've always been a rebel, at times I've been exactly like them."

"But you didn't have a choice in the Time Wars," Ianto protested, shaking his head, the smile quickly gone from his features. "You did what you felt you had to do. It's not as though you wanted to destroy Gallifrey. And you didn't 'stand back and let it happen.'"

"No, I suppose I didn't." The Doctor sighed again as he leaned back in his chair. "But that doesn't change the fact that I destroyed my own planet. If more was known about me, how do you think that would go over with the general population of the world?"

"Not well," Ianto was forced to admit, his own sigh matching the Time Lord's. "All right, so I guess that it's better to keep who you are a secret. But it still seems a shame that you'll never be credited for all the good things you've done, especially for Earth."

"The people who should know about those things do know," the Doctor told him, his voice soft. "You know. The people closest to me know. Some secrets are better off kept locked away in the hearts of a few than shared with the world, Ianto."

"I'll keep that secret in my heart forever," Ianto whispered, moving to where the Doctor sat and taking his lover's hand in his. This was one secret that he was grateful to be a part of -- and one that he could always hold close to his heart.

***