Title: Music of the Heart
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1, 50scenes
Prompt: 18, Harp
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.

***

"Dance with me, Ianto." The young man looked up from the console where he'd been studying the current galaxy they were in, his blue-grey eyes widening in surprise. Those were words that he hadn't expected to hear, especially as there was no music.

"What should we dance to?" he asked with a smile, looking around them. He expected the Tardis to turn on some sort of music, but the room remained silent, as though the ship was waiting expectantly. Ianto looked back at the Doctor, raising a brow in question.

"We don't need music," the Time Lord told him softly, moving into his embrace and sliding his own thin arms around Ianto's waist. "Don't you hear the music that's already playing in your heart, love? Let that be your guide You don't actually need to hear the music."

"Doctor, I'm not good at dancing if I have to imagine the music I'm hearing," Ianto protested, laughing a little nervously. He was right; dancing had never been his forté, and dancing without being able to actually hear music was a little out of his league.

"Just close your eyes and let the music fill your mind," the Doctor said, starting to sway against Ianto, his thin body pliant in the younger man's arms. "You don't have to hear it with your ears, Ianto. It's inside you. Just let it come out."

Ianto felt more than a little dubious about that, but there was no reason not to try doing as the Doctor said. After all, there was no one to see them; they were alone here on the ship, and he didn't mind if his lover knew that he was a bit clumsy when it came to dancing.

As they began to move around the room, Ianto actually found himself relaxing into the Doctor's arms; it wasn't so hard to dance without hearing music, as long as he could keep himself alert and follow the Time Lord's lead. But he was still wary of doing something stupid.

He'd been known to step all over his partner's feet when he was trying to dance; he'd never been much good at it, at least in his own mind. Jack hadn't seemed to have a problem dancing with him -- but then, Jack was used to being in odd situations.

Of course, so was the Doctor, he reminded himself with a smile. This man had been in more strange predicaments than anyone he'd ever known, and had come through them all. Certainly having his feet stepped on during a dance wasn't something he would notice.

"What are you smiling about?" the Doctor asked, tilting his head to the side and regarding Ianto with a slight smile on his own face. "See, I told you this would be easy," he added, sweeping Ianto around the room in a graceful arc. "You can hear the music in your imagination."

Ianto nodded, trying to keep his concentration on what his feet were doing. But it was inevitable; after the next few steps, his foot landed squarely on the Doctor's, and the Time Lord let out a startled exclamation and hopped on one foot for a moment.

"Doctor, I'm sorry!" Ianto was instantly contrite, wanting to break away from their impromptu dance and kneel to take the Doctor's foot in his hand. It would take him a few moments to remove the Time Lord's trainer and examine his foot ....

But the Doctor was shaking his head, his arms more firmly around Ianto's waist now. "No, Ianto, it's all right, really," he said softly, his dark gaze meeting his lover's concerned one. "Keep dancing. Don't you hear the music? We can't stop now."

For just a moment, Ianto wondered if the Doctor was suffering from some kind of delusion; he'd never seen his lover like this before, in such a lighthearted mood that he wanted to waltz around the control room of the Tardis as though there were no problems facing them.

Still, the Doctor had a right to these flights of fancy now and then. There was always so much on his mind; he had the weight of the world on his slender shoulders far too often, and he certainly needed to have a bit of relaxation, more than most people did.

If he closed his eyes, he could hear a faint music playing somewhere in the back of his mind; it sounded something like a harp, classical music that had a sweeping, panoramic feeling to it. Yes, it was there, getting stronger the more he concentrated on hearing it.

Yes, that was a harp playing in his mind. He could hear the soft strains of it, the music whirling on the wind. It was soft and almost seductive, calling to him, telling him to take the Doctor in his arms and move around the room as though they were in a crowded ballroom.

He could almost feel other people twirling by them in a waltz, hear the rustle of silk ball gowns, smell the profusion of flowers that would be in vases on tables against the walls. He could hear the hum of conversation below the music, feel the contained excitement --

"That's the music of the heart that you're hearing, Ianto," the Doctor told him softly, his voice breaking into the young man's fantasy. "I hear it, too -- though I have to wonder if we're hearing the same thing." His voice was soft and husky, his whisper soft in Ianto's ear.

"I can hear a harp," Ianto murmured, blushing slightly and wondering if his words sounded silly. "It's playing a waltz -- and I can almost feel other people around us. If I close my eyes, we're in a ballroom, in black tie, and there are other dancers all around us."

The Doctor nodded, his dark eyes bright with interest. "I hear an orchestra," he said, whirling Ianto around expertly and steering their course near the console. "And I think that I just might be able to mix your harp and my orchestra into real sound."

The Time Lord turned his attention from his lover for just a moment to press a few buttons on the console; immediately, the air sprang to life all around them, the strains of a waltz floating through the air -- with a solo harp melody rising above the background music.

Now that he could hear the music, Ianto's feet were guided more firmly, and he was less likely to step all over the Doctor. He smiled as they continued to whirl around the control room, even feeling bold enough to dip the Doctor when they came around to the console again.

"You're really quite a good dancer, love," the Doctor told him with a laugh, his cheeks pinkened with the exertion, his dark eyes sparkling with gaiety. "Especially when you have music to guide you. Though I think you were doing just fine before."

"Maybe I was," Ianto murmured, feeling absurdly pleased with himself. He hadn't thought much of his dancing ability before, but this was changing his mind. If he could dance to music that was only playing in his head, then maybe he wasn't all that bad at this.

"It's always easy to dance to the music of the heart, especially when you're with someone you love," the Doctor said softly, his gaze on Ianto's face. When their eyes met, the young man's breath caught in his throat; he couldn't have looked away from his lover even if he'd wanted to.

He could hear that music of the heart playing loud and clear; it wasn't the same music that was playing softly within the Tardis, but a music that only he could hear. No, that wasn't quite true. He wasn't the only person who was hearing that music in his heart and soul.

He was sure that the Doctor could hear it, too. It had to be playing just as loudly for the Doctor as it was for him; he was absolutely positive that the same music reverberating through his mind and resonating in his heart was doing the same within the Time Lord.

"I can hear that music," he whispered, his steps slowing to a stop. The two of them simply stood there, gazing into each other's eyes, not hearing the music that played in the room around them, but only the inner music that drew their hearts to each other.

"So can I, love," the Doctor answered, his voice so soft that it could barely be heard. "I hear it in my hearts. And I always will." Ianto nodded, his arms tightening around the Doctor as their lips met and the music of the heart swelled joyously until it enveloped him completely.

***