Title: No Laughing Matter
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1, 50episodes
Prompt: 26, Smirk
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.

***

The Doctor raised a hand to his head as he and Ianto walked out into the gardens that surrounded the hotel they were staying in on this particular pleasure planet. It took Ianto a moment to realize that the Time Lord wasn't merely shielding his eyes from the sun.

"Are you still a little hung over, love?" he asked, feeling sympathetic, but also wanting to laugh a bit. He'd known that the Doctor could only get drunk if the Time Lord let himself get into that state -- and last night had been the first time in a while that he'd done so.

He had never seen the Doctor drunk before; and in truth, the Gallifreyan had only gotten a little tipsy. But it had been enough for him to trip over his own feet on the way out of the dining room -- and also to make him get somewhat amorous with Ianto in the elevator.

Fortunately, there hadn't been anyone else there; the Doctor would have been even more embarrassed at the way that he'd let himself lose control if there had been and he'd remembered it. But they'd made it back to their hotel suite with no problems.

The Doctor had proceeded to fall face-first onto the bed and into sleep, and Ianto had been the one to remove his clothes and tuck him under the covers. He'd done so with a light heart, knowing that even if the Time Lord suffered a hangover in the morning, he could take of it.

He'd done so, of course; he had ordered strong coffee and some croissants for them, and they'd stayed in their bedroom until the Doctor had felt more like getting dressed and going out. But he was obviously still feeling the effects of drinking too much champagne.

The Doctor's nod broke into his thoughts, but the Time Lord managed a smile, not looking too much the worse for wear. "Thanks to you, I'm feeling much better," he murmured, taking Ianto's hand in his own as they strolled through the garden paths.

"That's good to know, sweetheart," Ianto told him, squeezing his hand gently. "This is a beautiful place, Doctor. I almost wish we could stay here -- but I expect we'll have to leave fairly soon, won't we?" He had a hard time keeping the wistful tone out of his voice.

"I'm a Time Lord, Ianto," the Doctor told him, his own voice gentle and a little regretful. "I'm a time traveler. That's what I do. And by bonding with me, you've thrown your lot in with mine. So .... yes, we'll have to leave soon. We can always come back here later, you know."

Ianto nodded, knowing that he'd have to be content with that. They could go anywhere they wanted; to any planet, in any time period. The Doctor could let him have a glimpse of future worlds -- or whisk him back into the past of his own planet's far-off history.

As they turned a corner in the path, they came upon another couple who apparently shared their idea that a walk in the garden in the late morning would be a nice way to spend their time. Ianto smiled at them, nothing that they couldn't hide their smirks when they looked at the Doctor.

The Time Lord nodded and smiled pleasantly until the other couple passed by -- but after they had, Ianto could see the red flush rising in his lover's pale skin. They'd obviously seen the Doctor leaving the dining room in a somewhat tipsy state last night.

Ianto didn't blame the Doctor for feeling a little embarrassed, especially given the way that those people had smirked at him, as though they were in possession of some knowledge that the Time Lord wouldn't want to be publicly known. He knew how that felt.

It could have been an awkward moment, if those two had chosen to say anything. Fortunately, they hadn't, but Ianto couldn't help wondering if there were other people who would give the Doctor those same looks, the same knowing smirks on their faces.

He hated to see anyone look at the Doctor like that; it was as though they had some kind of knowledge about his lover that he didn't share, and it made him feel protective of the man by side. And besides, he hated it when the Doctor looked so embarrassed.

He rarely ever saw his lover in this state; the Doctor never seemed to be embarrassed about anything. But Ianto supposed that the drinking he'd indulged in last night was something that had happened to him so rarely that embarrassment over a hangover was only to be expected.

It had been somewhat humorous to see the Time Lord in a tipsy state, he had to admit. He hadn't thought there was any harm in it; after all, everyone was entitled to let themselves go once in a while, and the Doctor obviously rarely ever did something like this.

Seeing his lover in such a state had been something of a laugh, but it was going to make any encounters they might have with people who'd seen him stumbling out of the dining room last night a bit awkward. If they were rude, then it would be no laughing matter.

"I hate it when people look at me like that," the Doctor said in a low voice, when he'd glanced over his shoulder and was sure that the passing couple was far out of earshot. "I know they must have seen me last night -- otherwise they wouldn't have given me a second glance."

"I think they might have, sweetheart," Ianto agreed with a sigh. "But a lot of people saw you stumble out of the dining room, not just them. So you may have to deal with more smirking looks from people today. That is, unless we decide to keep to ourselves."

"We can't be on a pleasure planet and just lock ourselves away in our suite," the Doctor protested, shaking his head. "That would be a waste of our time here. I'll just have to brave all of the snickers and the smirks I'm bound to get in the dining room again tonight."

"It's really ridiculous for people to look at you like that," Ianto told him, feeling indignant. "After all, it's not as though they've never gotten a little drunk and had problems walking in a straight line before. I'm sure they don't like being laughed at for it, either."

"If I recall correctly, you were smirking at me yourself when I woke up this morning," the Doctor told him, smiling ruefully. "And you had every right to, love. I made an arse out of myself, didn't I? I can promise you that I won't be doing that again for a while."

"You're more than welcome to do that when we're on the Tardis," Ianto said with a soft laugh. "I think it might actually be fun to play a drinking game where I get to make you strip and take a drink every time I win. I have a feeling that I'd be quite good at that game."

"Ah, but I just might let you win so you can get me drunk and take advantage of me!" the Doctor laughed, his good humor restored, his embarrassment of a few minutes before apparently forgotten. "So you'd never know if you were good at the game or not."

"I think you'd probably go out of your way to try and get me out of my clothes, too!" Ianto told him, unable to keep his laughter from bubbling to the surface. "We need to try something like that, Doctor. I think it could liven up some of our nights on the Tardis."

"Do you really think we need a drinking game to liven up our nights?" The Time Lord looked at him with raised brows, a skeptical mock-frown on his face. "If our nights aren't lively enough already, then we just might be doing something wrong."

"I don't think we've done anything wrong so far -- but we might want to test that," Ianto said, trying his best to keep a straight face. It was hard not to burst into laughter; he could feel the giggles hidden just under his words, threatening to come out into the open.

"Would this be a good time to start that testing?" the Doctor asked, stopping in his tracks and turning to look at Ianto. He was obviously having a hard time holding back a smile; the corners of his lips were twitching, his dark eyes sparkling with mirth.

"I suppose we could go back to our suite and get started on it," Ianto mused, pretending to think. "Or we could start here, out in the open -- but I don't think that people would appreciate that too much. We might get a lot more stares. Or even some knowing smirks."

"That's one thing I wouldn't mind having people smirking at me for," the Doctor said with a laugh. "Who knows? Maybe they would learn something from us, and be grateful. Then we could be the ones to smirk at them. And we'd have taught them something."

This time, Ianto's laughter rang out; he was unable to hold it back. Sliding his arms around the Doctor, he pulled the other man close to him for a kiss, not caring if anyone might happen to come upon them and smirk knowingly when they saw what was going on.

***