Title: Nobody Said It Was Easy
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1, 10_prompts
Prompt: 8, Promise
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 shifted his position in bed next to the Doctor, pulling the Time Lord more closely against him. The Gallifreyan didn't awaken; he merely sighed softly and stirred a bit, his breath a warm reassurance against Ianto's skin.

Even when they were together like this, and there didn't seem to be any trouble on the horizon, Ianto couldn't help but feel a disturbance in the back of his mind; these times of relaxation never seemed to last long for the two of them.

He'd promised the Doctor that he would stay here by the Time Lord's side for the rest of his life, and he had meant those words with all of his heart. There was nowhere else he wanted to be, and no one else he could possibly imagine being with.

But he doubted his ability to keep the Doctor safe. After all, that was part of what being a companion meant, wasn't it? To watch the Doctor's back, to ensure that he was protected. And he didn't always mange to fulfill that part of his promise.

It wasn't a promise that he should have made with such confidence that he could keep it. Ianto sighed softly, closing his eyes and snuggling down into the softness of his pillow. He should know better than to make rash promises by now, shouldn't he?

He'd promised Lisa that he would help her, and that he would keep her safe. Instead, he'd made terrible mistakes in his zeal to help her -- and had ended up being the indirect cause of her death. That guilt would haunt him for the rest of his life.

He hadn't made Jack any promises -- but that didn't seem to matter. Their relationship had been in the nature of an experiment, rather than any long-term commitment. It had been important to him at the time, but Jack wasn't the person he was meant to be with.

No, that person was the Doctor. This was the man he'd bonded with, the man who he'd been meant for from the moment of his conception. This was the man he wanted to promise everything in the world -- and make all of those promises come true.

Ianto looked down at the man slumbering peacefully in his arms, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he studied the Doctor's face. It wasn't often that he saw his lover so relaxed; he intended to enjoy the vision for as long as he could.

He'd never had the chance to hold Jack like this and watch him sleep. Jack had been like a hurricane in his life; he'd overwhelmed Ianto, taken him over, introduced him to a side of himself that he'd always known was there but had been afraid to let see the light of day.

He had always been interested in men -- but he'd never had the courage to be who he was until they had begun a relationship. The emotions had come more from Ianto than from Jack; he knew the immortal had cared about him, but caring wasn't love.

Still, Jack had given him something invaluable -- he'd taught Ianto that he should never hide who he really was behind a veneer of conventionality. If he'd continued to do that, then he would have never had the courage to be with the Doctor.

There had been no promises from Jack, and Ianto hadn't expected them. He had known from the start that they wouldn't stay together for very long, and he was grateful that they hadn't. Jack had given him what he needed to dive headlong into another life entirely.

He hadn't expected this life with the Doctor; when he'd first met the Time Lord, he hadn't expected the other man to take any interest in him. At first, he'd been content to admire from afar, never dreaming that the Gallifreyan could possibly feel the same about him.

What a day it had been when he'd found out that the Doctor wanted to be with him! He could still feel that dizzying rush of sensation over his body when he'd heard those words, how his heart had felt as though it was expanding to wrap around the Doctor and pull him close.

They'd made no promises to each other at the beginning; those first few days and nights had been spent exploring each other emotionally and physically, finding their way into each other's hearts and souls, moving forward slowly and carefully.

It had been nothing like his experience with Jack; then, the two of them had come together in an almost violent explosion of need. The need was just as intense with the Doctor, but it was tempered by a knowledge that this was where each of them belonged.

The promises had come later, when they had been comfortable enough with each other to utter those words in the darkness. Ianto had meant every promise he'd made, every syllable his lips had formed. He meant to keep those promises.

He intended to keep the Time Lord safe, even if that protection came at the cost of his own life. Nothing would happen to this man on his watch, Ianto told himself, running a hand through the Doctor's hair. He would be safe, as safe as Ianto could make him.

That might not be the easiest promise for him to keep, but nothing worthwhile ever came easily, Ianto told himself firmly. Nobody said that life would be easy; even this life that he wanted more than he'd ever wanted anything else came with risks.

Maybe he shouldn't have made those promises. Maybe they had been rash, made in the heat of the moment before he really knew what he was getting himself into. But they had been made with all the sincerity in his heart.

Ianto closed his eyes, leaning back and letting himself relax. His promises to the Doctor would be kept, no matter what danger he might have to fight his way through. After all, what didn't kill him would only make him stronger -- and make him that much more capable of fulfilling each and every promise.

***