Title: Just One Smile
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 11, 50episodes
Prompt: 32, Flirtation
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 toward the Doctor as he stood at the counter of the café they'd stopped at, unable to keep his eyes away from his lover for long. No matter where they were or what they were doing, his gaze always strayed back to the Time Lord.

He couldn't stop looking at the other man even if he'd wanted to, he told himself, a slow smile spreading across his features. The Doctor was easily the most beautiful man he'd ever seen; no one could even begin to compare to him.

It was obvious that others in the place were noticing the Time Lord; Ianto's smile turned into a scowl as he saw a man at a nearby table whose gaze seemed to be fixated on the Doctor. He'd put a stop to that as soon as he got back to their table.

Stepping up to the counter, he ordered two coffees and paid the girl at the register, then made his way back through the crowded café to their table. That man was still staring at the Doctor -- and so were two giggly girls sitting in the back corner.

Ianto sat down across the table from the Time Lord, reaching out a hand to twine their fingers together. "Have you noticed that you seem to be attracting a lot of attention?" he asked, keeping his voice soft and smiling as he spoke.

"Am I?" The Doctor looked startled at Ianto's words; the young man almost wanted to laugh out loud at the look of bewilderment on the Gallifreyan's features. He really hadn't noticed that people were looking at him. He was oblivious to that sort of thing.

"Yes, they are." Ianto inclined his head in the direction of the man who apparently couldn't keep his eyes away from the Doctor; as soon as he noticed that Ianto was watching him, he looked down, apparently finding something very interesting in the paper he was reading.

"Why? Do I have something on my face? Is my hair sticking up in all directions? I know that I'm not wearing something that people might think looks weird." The Doctor looked down at himself, frowning and shaking his head. "Why are they staring?"

"They're looking at you for the same reason that I like to look. Because you're beautiful," Ianto said with a soft laugh, squeezing the other man's fingers gently. "I can't blame them for looking, but I wish they'd find someone else to be interested in."

"I don't particularly like it when people look at you and lust after you, either!" the Doctor said, his laughter joining Ianto's. "You can't stop people from looking, sweetheart. As long as they're not actually following up on it, they're not doing any harm."

"And they'll do even less if they see me flirting with you," Ianto told him, leaning across the table to brush his lips against the softness of the Doctor's mouth. He sat down again, smiling at the flustered look on the Time Lord's face.

What would those girls in the corner think of that? Ianto turned his head to look just as the waitress came to their table with their coffee; he couldn't help but smile with satisfaction as he caught the looks on their faces. They both looked somewhat dumbfounded.

The Doctor's gaze had followed Ianto's; when the young man turned back around to face his lover again, the other man was smiling as he picked up his coffee cup. "I think they're having a hard time believing that we're with each other," the Doctor told him.

"If they have a problem with that, then they need to get over it," Ianto responded, wishing that he could manage to drink his coffee and have his hands all over the Doctor at the same time. He wanted to give those girls -- and that man -- an eyeful.

"It's a shame that people on 21st-century Earth still haven't learned to accept that love takes many different forms," the Doctor sighed, shaking his head. "I'm disappointed to realise that two men flirting can still bother people in this day and age."

"That's one of the things that Jack's century got right," Ianto agreed, deciding that he could hold his coffee cup with one hand and hold the Doctor's hand with the other. He reached across the table again, taking the Time Lord's hand in his own.

"I know you don't like the fact that most of the residents of his century doesn't believe in committed relationships," the Doctor said, raising a brow in question. "But I have to agree with you. At least they have no problem with seeing two people of the same sex together."

"Judging from some of the things Jack has told me, I don't think they have a problem with seeing a human in a relationship with an alien!" Ianto said, realizing a moment later what he'd said. "And that might very well be the dumbest thing I've said in a while."

The Doctor laughed, squeezing Ianto's hand affectionately. "I look human, Ianto. I think what you may mean is that people in Jack's century wouldn't have a problem with a relationship between a human and an alien that's recognizable as being an alien."

"That's exactly what I mean," Ianto told him, breathing a sigh of relief. He'd almost expected the Doctor to take offense at what he'd said -- it had been a thoughtless remark. But of course, he knew his lover much better than that, he told himself firmly.

"If that's how you flirt with me, I'd hate to see you when you're actually trying to put your foot in your mouth," the Doctor teased, leaning back in his chair with a smirk. "Really, Ianto, you need to work on your technique."

"Jack is much better at flirting than I am, isn't he?" Ianto said ruefully, a blush creeping into his cheeks. "You're right, I'm not very good at it. It's something I should probably work on -- when I'm not opening my mouth and inserting the entire leg."

"You know, I don't mind if you're good at flirting or not," the Time Lord told him, standing up and leaning across the table to press a gentle kiss against Ianto's cheek. "I love you exactly the way you are, Ianto Jones. I wouldn't change a single thing about you."

"Even if I could be better at flirting and making you feel special?" Ianto inquired, almost laughing as the girls at the table in the corner threw him dirty looks as they got up to leave. He almost wanted to wink at them as they walked out, but he managed to refrain.

"You make me feel special just by being with me, love," the Doctor murmured, squeezing his hand again. "All you have to do is look at me with those bedroom eyes, and I feel like the luckiest man in the universe, simply because you've chosen to be with me."

"Now, that sounds like flirting to me," Ianto said, his blush intensifying. He wasn't used to anyone saying things like that to him; while it didn't sound like a line coming from the Doctor, it was the sort of compliment that always embarrassed him.

"Not flirting at all," the Doctor said, shaking his head as he lifted his coffee cup to drain the last of the liquid. "Merely the truth. All you have to do to make me feel special is be with me, Ianto. Just one smile, one look from you, and I know how much I mean to you."

"All I have to do is look into those eyes, and I can see all my feelings reflected there," Ianto whispered, wondering where words like that were coming from. He didn't usually have that kind of facility with words -- unless he reached into his heart for them.

"That may be flirting, but I know sincerity when I hear it," the Doctor said softly, his dark gaze not leaving Ianto's face. "And I think that we should go back to the Tardis and show each other just how deeply those feelings go."

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Ianto agreed, standing up and pulling the Doctor to his feet. Sliding an arm around the Time Lord's waist, he guided the two of them towards the door, eager to get back to the Tardis and show the Doctor just how sincere those words were.

***