Title: Still in Love
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 4, 50episodes
Prompt: 15, Creative
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 dreams seem to have stopped," Ianto remarked as he looked over at the Doctor, studying his lover in the soft light of the lamp. They'd both been sitting quietly in the library of the Tardis, reading, taking some time to relax.

The Doctor sighed, putting his book down on his lap. His dark gaze met Ianto's as he nodded slowly, looking more relieved than the young man had expected he would. "I think so. I hope so. We both need our sleep, you more so than me."

"I wouldn't say that," Ianto protested with a smile. "At least, not now. Okay, I obviously still need to sleep, but it doesn't seem as imperative now as it did before. Maybe that's one of the physical changes I'll have to learn to get used to."

"We're both going to have to get used to dealing with some physical changes," the Doctor said, yawning and stretching his arms above his head. "But I don't think they'll be bad ones. So far, it doesn't seem to have affected either of us too adversely."

Ianto nodded slowly, agreeing. "It's only been a few days, though. We'll have to wait and see, I suppose. We might get some surprises -- but I seriously doubt they're the sorts of surprises that the Master thought we'd have when he started all this."

The Time Lord smiled wryly, leaning back in his chair. "Oh, I don't doubt that he thought we'd be gone by now, and he'd have rid the world of his most dangerous enemy. And I have to admit that he chose a rather creative way to attempt that this time."

Ianto let out a small, dour laugh. "Indeed he did," he said, his words sounding almost bitter. "He invaded our dreams, somehow managed to get into our minds. I don't know which of us suffered more for it, but I think you did -- which was probably what he intended."

The Doctor sighed again, reaching out a hand to rest it on Ianto's knee. "Sweetheart, don't be bitter," he murmured, anxiety showing in his tone. "We've come out of it, even though we might have gotten a little burnt along the way .At least we survived."

His young lover's eyes met his, and Ianto's gaze softened as they looked into each other's eyes. "Yes, we did," he admitted his voice husky. "I just wish you hadn't had to go through that. I feel guilty for dying and putting you through so much pain."

"I don't blame you for that," the Doctor told him, his dark eyes suddenly shimmering with unshed tears. "True, I didn't want to go through that kind of pain, but it's not like you can blamed for it. You didn't want to die, after all."

"Of course I didn't," Ianto agreed, a nearly inaudible sigh leaving his lips. "But most of all, I didn't want you to go through more pain than you already had because of me. And I let him put you through the greatest pain that you could have possibly suffered."

"But you came back to me," the Doctor said, his voice husky, a few tears streaking down his cheeks. "I should have known that fate wouldn't be so cruel as to take you away from me, Ianto. I should have had more faith in us -- in everything that we share."

"It's a good thing that the Master can't manipulate fate," Ianto whispered, leaning forward and raising a hand to brush away the tears on the Time Lord's face. "And a good thing that fate decided to smile on us and not on him. Or else, who knows where we'd be now?"

The Doctor nodded, his breath catching in his throat. He rose from the chair to move over to the couch, settling himself next to Ianto and turning his young lover, resting his head on the other man's shoulder as Ianto's arm moved protectively around his waist.

"It was definitely a creative move on his part to get into our minds the way he did," the Doctor murmured after what seemed like a long time had passed. "But I don't think he's there any more, Ianto. I think the traumas that we both went through pushed him away."

"Or else he thought that he'd succeeded in his plan, and we're both dead," Ianto observed, his voice dry. "I'd say that's more likely, Doctor. I doubt he'd leave our minds and leave us in peace if he didn't think he'd won already. He's too crafty for that."

"He might think he's won, so we need to go after him while we have the advantage of surprise," the Doctor said, his voice growing grim. Ianto glanced down at his lover in surprise; he hadn't expected the Time Lord to want to confront the Master so soon.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, love?" he asked, frowning. "Yes, we'll have the element of surprise on our side, but you have to look at the fact that both of us are still adjusting. I don't think we should think of trying to track down and confront the Master yet."

The Doctor was silent for a few moments before he finally nodded, reluctance obvious in his words when he spoke. "I suppose you're right about that. He may not know that we're alive, and we could lose that advantage if we wait. But we need to worry about ourselves first."

"It's not that I don't think we should confront him," Ianto hastened to say. "Of course, we're going to have to do that, at some point. I think it's obvious that he's plotting something. But we need to get our feet under us and be sure that we're ready to face him before we try it."

The Doctor nodded again, this time looking and sounding more decisive. "You're right. Both of us have been through a shattering experience, and we need a bit of time to get used to the fact that our lives have changed irrevocably before we go looking for trouble."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he already knows that we're alive, Doctor," Ianto said, his voice soft. "If he was connected to us when everything happened, he may not have let that mental control go until it was all over. He may think I'm dead, but he knows you're not."

"I don't believe he wanted to kill me," the Doctor said, his tone sober. "He wanted me to regenerate. I'd say that he was counting on losing you completely destroying the man I was -- and that the man I would become might come looking for him."

"Does he really think you'd do that?" Ianto asked, his brow furrowing. "I'd think that after all the centuries, he'd know you better than that. He knows that you're not someone who's going to go off half-cocked and thinking about revenge."

"He probably wouldn't expect me to think about taking revenge on him," the Doctor said slowly, his eyes narrowing. "He would expect me to be crushed, to feel that I'd lost everything, and not to know that he was the one who had caused it. He would expect me to be broken."

"And to come to him for some sort of consolation, because he's the only other Gallifreyan in the universe, and therefore the only one who could understand what it's like to regenerate," Ianto finished for him, his voice thoughtful. "Would he really think that way?"

"Oh yes, he would." The Doctor's voice was still grim; he shook his head, almost as if in disbelief. "He'd know that losing you would destroy the man I am now -- and he would hope that feeling of hopelessness would still be a part of me when I regenerated."

"And would it?" Ianto asked, wondering if he really wanted to know the answer. The Doctor would be a different man when he regenerated, in some ways -- the same memories, but a different personality. He might not even still be in love with Ianto.

"Of course it would," the Doctor answered softly, his dark gaze meeting his lover's. "I might be different, I might change bodies -- but we're bonded, Ianto. That bond will last throughout eternity. Even when my bodies cease to exist, I'll still be in love with you. Bonding is forever."

Ianto nodded, swallowing back a lump that had formed in his throat. He'd known that, but he had needed to hear the Doctor say the words. "And now we have forever to love each other," he whispered, his voice filled with all the emotion he felt.

The Doctor snuggled close against him, nuzzling his cheek against Ianto's throat. "You're absolutely right about us needing to take some time for each other," he said softly, raising his head to nibble at Ianto's ear. "Don't you think we should be doing that right now?"

"Yes, indeed I do," Ianto answered with a soft laugh, pulling the Doctor closer to him and brushing his lips against the other man's mouth. He loosened his grip on the Time Lord, watching as his lover stood up and held out a hand to help him to his feet.

The Master might have chosen a creative way to get to them, but he'd failed -- as he always would where they were concerned, Ianto told himself. He and the Doctor were a team, one that couldn't be torn apart -- and now that they had bonded, they were even stronger.

Try as he might, the Master would never be able to come between them, he thought as he clasped the Doctor's hand and headed out of the library. The two of them were unified in their love -- and they always would be, standing strong against any adversity that might come their way.

***