Title: Magic Moments
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 11, 50episodes
Prompt: 34, Stolen Moments
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 sighed and leaned back against the trunk of the tree, closing his eyes. It was lovely to be able to take time to sit under a tree in the shade, on a planet where everything seemed quiet and peaceful, to let all of his worries fade away for a while.

Of course, he knew that this probably wasn't going to last for long. He and Doctor had to talk about all that had been happening in their lives lately, and the threat that they were both sure was coming from the Master. That couldn't be put off for long.

But they also needed to take time for themselves. They couldn't constantly worry about what their greatest enemy was planning to do, or they would drive themselves insane. It was bad enough that he was invading their dreams.

Maybe they would only have a few stolen moments to be with each other like this until the threat that was facing them was taken care of. But Ianto wanted to hold on to these moments and treasure them as they came, to make the most of each second.

This time wouldn't last, of course, he told himself wistfully. He and the Doctor couldn't simply live their lives together without a care, as some couples could. But at least they could have these moments now and then, times to savor the joy of being with each other.

They were with each other all the time, a small voice in the back of his mind objected. But not like this, Ianto told himself, opening his eyes and looking towards the Tardis. The Doctor had run back into the ship, saying that he would return in a few minutes.

He'd probably gone in to change clothes, Ianto thought, smiling at the idea. The Doctor had taken to wearing his pinstriped suit more and more lately; it was almost like a suit of armor for him, something that he wore to face new situations.

But here, where they could be alone and not have to worry about any kind of sudden attack, or even about the thoughts that seemed to constantly plague them these days, he could let his guard down and be comfortable -- which Ianto thought he badly needed to do.

The Doctor had not only been losing sleep, but his worry had been making itself visible in his face. He always looked tired now -- and Ianto knew that it wasn't only from lack of sleep. And that wasn't the only way that all of this had affected the Time Lord.

He'd been short with Ianto more than once, and even though he apologized for it afterwards and obviously felt guilty, Ianto wanted that tendency to be banished once and for all. Before the twisted dreams and sleepless nights, the Doctor had never snapped at him.

Maybe staying here for a while, even if it was ony for a few hours, would help the Time Lord to relax, Ianto thought, hoping with all his heart that his hope proved to be true. The Doctor needed to let the stress that had been building up within him lately fall away.

And this would be the perfect place to do it, Ianto thought, smiling as he took in the scene around him. It was certainly beautiful here; this had to be the most peaceful place that the two of them had found in quite a while. A place to relax and forget the world.

Ianto looked towards the Tardis again, smiling as the Doctor emerged from the ship. He'd been right about what the Time Lord intended to do; instead of the usual suit, he was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, and looking more relaxed than he had in a while.

He loved seeing the Doctor like this, he thought as the Time Lord moved towards him. Was it just his imagination, or did his lover look even more handsome when he was dressed in casual clothes? No, not imagination, that inner voice told him. Only the truth.

The Doctor sat down beside Ianto, pulling his long legs up and resting his chin on his knees. "It's nice to be here, isn't it?" he said softly, his gaze taking in the quiet serenity that surrounded them. "For once, not to have to worry about so many things."

"It certainly is," Ianto agreed fervently, reaching to take the Time Lord's hand in his own and twine their fingers together. "We've both needed this for a while, I think. I just wish that we had more time like this, and not just stolen moments here and there."

"I wish we could relax like this more often too, love," the Doctor said with a sigh, squeezing Ianto's hand. "And after we know just what the Master is up to and we face him down, I hope we'll be able to do that. But until then --"

"There are more important things on our minds, I know," Ianto interrupted, leaning over to brush a quick kiss against the Doctor's cheek. "But we need times like this, Doctor. We need our moments together to let us gather our strength so that we can face whatever might be coming."

The Time Lord nodded, another sigh escaping him. "That's true enough. I don't want either of us to feel that this problem of the Master is overwhelming us. If we start feeling like that, then he'll have intimidated us and have the advantage at the beginning."

Ianto nodded, wishing that the Doctor's words didn't carry such a ring of truth. "I know that whatever might happen with him isn't going to be pretty, or safe. But this is what I signed on for when I bonded with you, Doctor. I'll take any risk to be by your side."

"I don't want you to take risks, Ianto." The Doctor's voice was quiet but firm. "I won't risk losing you to defeat the Master. I know that he needs to be stopped, but I'm not going to put you in the line of fire to do so, no matter what happens."

"I won't risk you, either." Ianto's voice was no less strong and firm than the Time Lord's. "I know you'd like to think that you can face him alone because you've done it in the past, but I won't let you do that, Doctor. Not this time. Not when I can fight alongside you."

The Doctor sighed, closing his eyes and heaving a sigh. "I'd rather face him alone," he whispered, shaking his head. "I know that he has to be defeated once and for all, but knowing all that I could lose .... the end result isn't worth that, Ianto. Nothing is."

"Sometimes you have to take great risks if you want to achieve great rewards," Ianto said, not caring if he'd gotten that particular quote right or not. "If we want to be able to have times like these in the future, we have to take some risks to make sure they'll be there."

"I don't want to lose any of the moments we might have like this in the future," the Doctor murmured, looking over at Ianto and fixing the young man with his dark gaze. "But I don't want to risk you to make sure that they'll be there for the taking."

"These moments between us are magical, Doctor," Ianto told him, moving closer to the Time Lord and sliding his arms around the other man's slim waist. "I don't think they'll disappear because we have to take some risks -- but if we don't take those risks, we might not have a future."

"And keeping that future intact to be sure that those magic moments will still be there for us is what we have to focus on," the Doctor said, resting his head against Ianto's shoulder. "All right, love. I won't try to make you stay in the background. I owe you that much."

"It's not as though I haven't faced danger in the past with Torchwood," Ianto told him, wanting to reassure his lover as much as he possibly could. "I've been in bad situations before, Doctor. And I've come out of them. I'll make it through this, too."

The Doctor raised his head, giving Ianto a somewhat wavering smile. "Then we'll both have to come through whatever might happen," he whispered, raising a hand to Ianto's cheek. "Because I'm not going to lose you. Or lose the moments we have together."

"We won't lose them," Ianto whispered as he leaned forward to press a kiss against those parted lips. "I promise." As he closed his eyes, he found himself hoping with all of his heart that his words were true and that would be a promise he could keep.

***