Title: Reach the Stars
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 5
Prompt: 34, Starlight
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.

***

"I wonder how many stars there are in the sky?" Ianto mused, looking up from the vantage point on the balcony of their apartment building. "There are times when it seems as though there are hundreds of thousands, far too many to count. I tried to do it all the time when I was a child. I would usually get tired of counting and give up by the time I got to a hundred."

The Doctor laughed softly, reclining back on one elbow and looking up at the velvety expanse of darkness above them, sprinkled with small pinpricks of light. "There are millions upon billions of them, Ianto. I've been to quite a few .... but even in 900 years and more, I don't think it would be possible to visit every star that exists. Well, not all of them are planets, obviously -- but there are still far too many."

Ianto moved closer to the Doctor, a smile curving his lips as he looked at the other man. He didn't want to articulate just how eager he was to see these other planets, these stars, all these places that the Doctor had been to and was apparently familiar with. He'd never thought that he was the sort of person to have that kind of wanderlust in him -- but then, meeting the Doctor had changed his perspective on many things about his life.

His lover looked up at him, his voice soft and serious when he spoke. "I know you want to spend more time going with me when I need to leave, Ianto. And that will come, eventually. But for now, I think it's best for you to stay behind, at least most of the time. I won't have you putting yourself in the path of danger, my sweet. It's enough that you have to do that in your work with Torchwood."

"I don't think I'd be in any more danger with you than I am on the missions we're sent on from the office," Ianto protested, a frown creasing his brow. "After all, if I was with you, at least you'd know what we were getting into, and the places we'd be going. We don't always have that luxury with Torchwood."

He shuddered at the memory of his first field excursion with his teammates -- a simple camping trip, that was all it was supposed to be. Everyone knew how that had ended -- with him nearly becoming dinner for a village of hungry cannibals. He still woke in the night in a cold sweat from those memories, even though it was long in the past. Some things couldn't be erased from his mind by simply refusing to think about them.

The Doctor was looking at him worriedly; Ianto knew that the Gallifreyan was seeing into his mind, as he seemed to have the capability of doing whenever Ianto felt nervous or tense. He knew that his lover didn't like to pry into his thoughts; he considered it an invasion, unless Ianto invited him to do so. But there were times when his mind, his thoughts, were crystal-clear, the Doctor had explained. There was no way that he couldn't pick up on them, even when he didn't want to do it.

He hated that he was so transparent; as much as he loved the Doctor, there were times when he'd rather keep his thoughts to himself. But he couldn't hold it against the Time Lord, or look at it as an intrusion; it wasn't the Doctor's fault that he had the ability to read minds, and that Ianto's mind was more open to him than most because of their emotional bond.

He didn't bring up his slight disturbance at being so easily read; he knew that the Doctor could more than likely sense it, and he didn't want to distress the Time Lord. Instead, he only said, "You know that I'll end up coming with you sooner or later, Doctor. It's inevitable. Neither of us can take these constant partings -- something has to give, at some point. One of us is going to break, eventually, and I don't want to see that happen."

The Doctor nodded, looking reluctant, but agreeing with Ianto nonetheless. "Yes, I know. It gets harder and harder each time I have to leave -- and there will come a time when I can't do anything properly, or concentrate in any way, unless you're with me. But, Ianto --" The Doctor's eyes met his, worry written clearly in those dark liquid depths. "-- If anything were to happen to you, I'd never forgive myself. I couldn't bear losing you."

"You won't lose me, love." Ianto reached out to cup the Time Lord's face, unable to keep himself from leaning forward and savoring those parted lips. "I promise, I'll go out of my way to keep myself -- and you -- safe when I'm with you, wherever we might happen to go," he murmured against the softness of the Doctor's mouth. "I couldn't bear to lose you either, you know."

The other man sighed softly, laying back on the blanket under them once the kiss was broken, his eyes roaming over the night sky above them. "I used to feel that those stars were the only home I'd ever have, after the destruction of Gallifrey," he said softly, not meeting Ianto's gaze. "But now .... I feel more and more lately that Cardiff is my home."

"It is your home, beloved," Ianto said softly, leaning forward to kiss the Doctor, his lips moving down the slender column of the Time Lord's throat. He pushed the other man's shirt aside, wishing that he could just remove the Doctor's clothing and take him here, on the balcony. But it wouldn't be a good idea, as he very well knew -- the neighbors would get an eyeful, and he didn't want to give the entire block a free show.

"My home is wherever you are," the Doctor answered, his eyes going a little unfocused when Ianto's lips touched his throat. He tilted his head back, closing his eyes and letting out a soft moan, his slim arms wrapping around his lover's shoulders and pulling Ianto down against him. They stayed that way for a long time, arms wrapped around each other.

Finally, Ianto spoke, his words slow and measured. "I want to come with you the next time you have to go, Doctor," he said, his voice soft but firm. "No protests," he added, placing a finger against the Doctor's lips when the Time Lord opened his mouth to speak. "I won't take no for an answer this time. I'm going, and that's final."

The Doctor's eyes widened with what looked like alarm, then narrowed, as though he was considering Ianto's words. The young man kept his finger against the Time Lord's lips, waiting for him to speak, to give him some kind of answer. If that answer was an emphatic "no," then he would come up with any argument he could as to why the Doctor was wrong and he had to go. He was convinced that he couldn't deal with spending any more time parted from his soul mate.

But the Doctor surprised him; the other man nodded slowly, pursing his lips and sighing softly, his warm breath a soft susurrus of sound and sensation against Ianto's skin. "You're right, Ianto. We've been parted far too much; and it would be better for you to be with me. At least then, neither of us would worry about what's happening with the other."

"I can't spend any more lonely nights away from you," Ianto murmured, taking the Doctor into his arms and pulling the Gallifreyan up into a sitting position. Now that the question of him accompanying the Doctor on his next trip into space and time was settled, he felt more at ease, as though a huge weight had finally been lifted from his shoulders and he could breathe freely again. He hadn't realized just how much stress he'd been under.

The Doctor pointed up at a particularly bright star, resting his head against Ianto's shoulder and leaning back against his young lover's chest. "That's one of the stars I've been to, Ianto. And one that I'll take you to. It's beautiful there .... it's a magical place. I want to show you all those beautiful places in the universe, my love."

"They'll all be beautiful to me -- as long as I'm able to share them with you," Ianto replied, his arms tightening around the Doctor's waist. He buried his face in the other man's tawny hair, closing his eyes and inhaling the soft scent of whatever shampoo it was that made the Doctor's hair smell so good. He didn't have to spend days, weeks, months without the Doctor. No, he was going with his love. They would be together, facing everything as a team.

That was what they'd always been intended to be, Ianto said to himself, wondering if the Doctor could read that thought, pluck it from his mind as easily as he had all the others. Would the Time Lord agree with him? Did he, too, think that the two of them had always been destined for each other, written in those stars that they would travel to?

"Yes," the Doctor whispered, his voice washing over Ianto like a caress. "You're my destiny, Ianto. I'll always believe that, for the rest of my life -- all of my lives. There's not a single doubt in my mind that we were meant to be together. No more partings, beloved. From now on, we face everything as one."

Ianto nodded, glancing up once more at the stars twinkling above them before he lowered his mouth to the Doctor's for another kiss. Soon, they would be among those stars; he would be a part of them, rather than sitting here looking up at them and thinking how far away they were. And he would share it all with the man he loved. He couldn't think of a better way to be introduced to what was out there, waiting for them in the unknown.

***