Title: Smooth Criminal
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 6, substituted for Table 5
Prompt: 10, Criminal -- substituted for 32, Queen
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.

***

"We've got to figure out a way to stop him, Ianto," the Doctor muttered, pacing around the control room of the Tardis. "The Master will stop at nothing, that's one thing I know about him. He's going to do whatever he can to control Earth."

"We don't even know what his plan is," Ianto countered, feeling just as worried as the Doctor obviously was, but trying to take a more practical view of the situation. "We have to find out just what he intends to do before we can make a plan to stop him."

"I've never really known what he was up to when I've tried to stop him in the past," the Doctor objected, stopping his pacing and turning to look at his young lover. "I've found out from experience that where he's concerned, jumping right in is the only thing to do."

Ianto frowned, not wanting to disagree with the Doctor, but feeling that he had to voice his own opinion. After all, they were a team now.

"I know you've dealt with him much more than I have, and you have some experience with him," he began, hoping that his words didn't offend his lover. "But I think we need to make a plan first, Doctor. That way, we're prepared for it if anything goes wrong."

"But ...." The Time Lord's voice trailed off, and he took a deep breath and nodded. "You're right, Ianto. There have been far too many close calls with him in the past. It's going to be better all around if we try to find out what he intends before we do anything else."

He crossed the control room to sit down on the couch, pulling his long legs up in front of him and resting his chin on his knees. After a few moments, Ianto joined him, sitting down beside the Time Lord and wrapping an arm around his waist.

The Doctor sighed, resting his head on Ianto's shoulder. The young man couldn't help but smile; even when he was worried, the other man still wanted to be close.

"He's a smooth criminal, that one," the Doctor said, his voice reflective. "He's tried so many different ways to bring harm to Earth that I have no idea what rabbit he'll pull out of a hat next. My mind doesn't work like his, Ianto. I can't predict what he might be planning."

"I'm glad your mind doesn't work the way his does," Ianto told him, shuddering at the remembrance of the last time he'd been anywhere near the Master. "I wouldn't want to think that I was in love with a megalomaniacal monster."

The Doctor smiled wryly, his voice almost sounding amused when he spoke. "That's one thing you'll never have to worry about, love. I promised myself that I was never going to end up the way he has -- I'd do away with myself before I'd let tht happen."

Another cold chill swept over Ianto at those words; his arm tightened around the Doctor's slender waist, his tone choked when he spoke again.

"I don't want to think that you could possibly become like him," he said, hoping that his words didn't sound contrived. They weren't; he meant them with every fiber of his being. "You're nothing like him, Doctor. You're light; he's dark. You could never be that .... evil."

The Doctor's arms slid around him, the Time Lord shifting his position until they were so close he could almost feel his lover's dual heartbeats. "There was always a chance that becoming a Time Lord could have turned me into that, Ianto. But it was a risk worth taking."

"Nothing is worth risking who you are," Ianto told him, taking the Doctor's face between his hands and looking into those fathomless dark eyes, those eyes that had mesmerized him from the first moment they'd met. "Nothing is worth submerging yourself."

"If I hadn't become a Time Lord, then I'd never have met you," the Doctor whispered, his gaze riveted on Ianto's face. "We would never have found each other."

"That's not something I want to think about, either," Ianto said, wrapping both arms around the Doctor's waist and pulling the other man close against him. "Losing you isn't an option for me. Which is one more reason that I want to have a plan before we go charging in."

"As you've already said, I've dealt with the Master for a long time, Ianto," the Doctor said, sighing. "I know him better than anyone. I've fought him across galaxies, for hundreds of years. If it was possible to have a plan for dealing with him, I'd have one."

"But you've said yourself that you never know just what he'll do, or how he'll react." Ianto didn't want to argue with the Doctor, but he felt that he had to put his opinion out there. "He's worse than a human criminal, Doctor. Neither of us can be sure just what he'll do."

"That's true enough," the Doctor said, nodding. "Which is why it's impossible to have a plan for anything concerning him."

Ianto had to reluctantly agree with the Time Lord; the Master was certainly unpredictable. But he still didn't want to go rushing into an unknown situation without having some sort of plan; he'd done that too many with Torchwood to be comfortable with it.

The Doctor seemed to know what he was thinking; his words were out before Ianto could speak. "It's best not to go rushing in without knowing something about the situation, love. I agree. But this isn't something we can anticipate."

"It's never anything that we can anticipate," Ianto said softly, closing his eyes and exhaling. "I didn't expect you to turn yourself over to him when you did -- but it happened. The Master is never anything we can put our finger on."

The Doctor swallowed hard, not answering. Ianto wanted to kick himself for bringing that up; it was in the past, and it should stay there.

"I'm sorry, beloved," he whispered, brushing his lips against the silken softness of the Doctor's hair. "I shouldn't have said that. I just .... I remember that the last time he had you in his clutches, I almost lost you. I don't want to take a chance with that. Not again."

"I don't want to remember that time, either," the Doctor said, his voice strained. "But you're right, Ianto. It's foolish of me to try to go into an encounter with the Master without formulating some kind of plan. The problem is, I don't know where to start."

"That's why you have me here," Ianto told him, taking a deep breath and trying to banish the shakiness from his voice. "I'm used to sizing up evidence and making plans. Jack wouldn't let me do much of it -- but I got pretty good at it before I left."

"Then we should try to have some kind of backup plan," the Doctor said, sitting up and taking a deep breath. "And we have to come up with that plan soon, Ianto."

"I know." Ianto sounded grim, his words coming out through a sudden constriction in his throat. "I've dealt with enough criminals to know that they have a timeline. And we're running out of time faster than usual, considering who we're dealing with."

"I may not be used to dealing with criminals per se, but I'm used to dealing with him," the Doctor told him, a slight smile on his lips. "He's only used to dealing with me. He hasn't faced the two of us as a team yet. He's going to regret even trying to get the better of us."

Ianto couldn't keep back his own smile at the Doctor's words. He'd expected to have to argue a lot more with his lover about the prudence of having a plan when they went after the Master, but it seemed as though the Time Lord was taking him seriously.

"Let's put our heads together and think of some way to get the better of him," the Doctor said softly, reaching for his young lover's hand. Ianto's fingers laced with the other man's, squeezing his hand and fervently hoping that the two of them together would be enough to outwit the Master.

***