Title: Take That Holiday
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG
Table: 25fluffyfics
Prompt: 5, Holiday
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.

***

"What do you mean, you don't ever get time off?" Ianto stared at the Doctor, shaking his head. "You certainly can't be expected to be 'on call' all the time, Doctor. You have your own life to live. You can't always be expected to be completely selfless."

"Oh, but I can." The Doctor sighed, leaning back on the couch and wondering just how he was going to explain this to Ianto. "I know this might not make sense to you, love, but being a Time Lord isn't just my 'job,' as it were. It's what I am."

Ianto sighed, shaking his head again. "I understand that, Doctor. There are humans who have that kind of feeling about their calling in life, too. There are some doctors who always put themselves out for others, and people in others professions, as well."

Now it was the Doctor's turn to shake his head. He didn't feel that he was explaining what he meant very well; if he was, then Ianto would have more of an understanding of his words.

"It's not that, Ianto." He groped for the words to describe what he meant -- and came up empty-handed. There was really no way to explain his meaning unless Ianto had felt something smiliar, and he didn't think that was the case.

"I don't just have a responsibility to protect the universe, Ianto. I'm the only one who can be there now. It was easier when there were more Time Lords ...." His voice trailed off as the memories of times past washed over him, memories that he had to push away.

"But you can't expect yourself to be there for the world all the time!" Ianto protested, his voice taking on an almost frantic note. "Doctor, that's too much to ask of yourself. You're only one man. You can't guard the world against any threat, anywhere, at any time."

"Maybe I can't, but I owe it to the universe to try," the Doctor said, his voice soft. "Please understand, Ianto. I can't just decide to turn my back on that responsibility."

"But you do need to take some time for yourself," Ianto told him, sinking down onto the couch and taking the Doctor's hands in his own. "You can't always chase adversity, Doctor. I know you haven't always lived like that, have you?"

"No," the Time Lord admitted with a sigh. "Not always. But I'm the last of the Time Lords, Ianto -- at least, the last one who's benevolent towards the universe. I can't relax the vigilance I keep for a second. If I do, then the Master --"

Ianto scowled at the mention of the renegade Time Lord; any reference to him always brought back memories that he'd rather not have in the forefront of his mind. "I know you worry about what he could do, Doctor, but running yourself into the ground isn't going to help matters."

"I know it isn't." The Doctor sighed again, a heavy, dejected sound. "But what else can I do? I can't let him think that he can run rampant in the universe with no one to stop him."

"You know, if you don't let yourself have a holiday once in a while, you'll burn yourself out," Ianto said softly, squeezing the Doctor's hands gently. "I don't want to see that happen, Doctor. I don't want to see you become resentful of all the responsibility you take on."

When the Time Lord's eyes met his with a startled expression in their dark depths, Ianto plunged on, not holding back his words any longer. "One of the things I've always loved about you is that you're so dedicated to what you are, Doctor. I don't want to see that change."

He took a deep breath before uttering a few more words. "But I'm afraid that if you don't take a few steps back from that responsibility sometimes, you'll become so wrapped up in it that you'll forget there are other things in life."

"In other words, you don't want to see what I am devour me," the Doctor said softly, his voice a little choked. "I-I'm afraid of that sometimes, too."

"Then don't let it happen," Ianto urged, his voice more hopeful. "You should take a holiday, Doctor. Just the two of us, somewhere that you won't have to worry about the needs of the world for a while. It doesn't have to last long. A week or two."

The Doctor seemed to turn the idea over in his mind; Ianto almost held his breath as he watched the Time Lord seemingly playing with the idea. If the Doctor couldn't be persuaded by words, Ianto had no idea how to make take a holiday.

After what seemed to him like an interminable amount of time, the Time Lord finally smiled and nodded, taking a deep breath and raising his dark eyes to meet Ianto's gaze. "All right, then. We'll go on holiday. Though I have no idea where to go."

"You don't know where to go?" Ianto couldn't resist a bit of teasing, now that the issue was settled. "You've been all over the galaxy, Doctor. Surely you must know of some place."

The Doctor laughed ruefully, shaking his head. "Oh, there are plenty of places that we could go for a holiday -- but every time I've ever tried to do something like that, I've always up being embroiled in more trouble than if I hadn't tried to get away for a while."

"Ah!" The realization struck Ianto that this was why the Doctor had been unwilling to entertain the idea of a holiday -- he'd tried to have them before, but somehow, something must have always gotten in the way of his relaxation.

He shouldn't be surprised, the young man thought to himself. Trouble always seemed to follow the Doctor around, as though it hunted him down. But this time, nothing was going to interfere with the two of them enjoying themselves. He'd make sure of that.

Of course, the Doctor had probably told himself that in the past, too, he admitted silently. But maybe this time, things would go more smoothly.

"I suppose that gives something away, doesn't it?" the Doctor asked, smiling a bit. "I'm always followed by trouble, Ianto, even when I'm not looking for it. It's not that I go charging around asking for trouble to find me -- it just always seems to."

"That's not your fault, love," Ianto murmured, reaching out to stroke gentle fingers down the Doctor's cheek. "I'm not surprised, actually," he continued with a laugh. "You're utterly irresistible, so I should expect trouble to want to find you."

This time, it was the Doctor's turn to laugh, his dark eyes sparkling and a blush rising to his cheeks. "If you keep it up with that sort of compliment, I may just drag you to the bedroom and forget about taking a holiday in some faraway place."

Ianto raised an eyebrow, finding that idea more appealing than the Doctor might have thought. "Oh, I believe that can be arranged."

Why had he thought that they needed to take that holiday in some place that he'd never been before? As far as he was concerned, they could stay in the Tardis and keep to themselves, and he would be perfectly happy.

It would be nice to be taken to a place that he'd never been before, Ianto thought, but what really mattered was that the Doctor was able to relax and put his worries for the world aside for the time being. And hopefully, he'd be able to help with that.

"Why do I get the feeling that we're going to spend the whole of our 'holiday' in our own bedroom?" the Doctor queried, getting to his feet and pulling Ianto along with him. "Though I don't think that either of us will have much of a problem with that ...."

"I don't have a problem with the idea at all," Ianto said softly, moving to take the Time Lord into his arms and pull him close. For him, it was enough of a holiday to have his love in his arms -- no matter where they happened to be in the universe.

***