Title: You Are the Everything
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 5, 50episodes
Prompt: 46, Soul
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 sighed with contentment as he rested his head on Ianto's shoulder, snuggling up beside his lover in their comfortable bed on the Tardis. He felt completely sated, his entire body still caught up in a haze of pleasure.

How was it that a human could manage to fulfill all of his needs? If anyone had told him before he'd met Ianto that this could happen, he would have scoffed at them. It would have seemed unbelievable to him that he could possibly be this happy.

Making love with Ianto always touched his soul, in ways that would never have been possible with anyone else. There was something about being with Ianto that brought out a side of him that he'd never known existed.

True, Time Lords didn't need sex; but it was pleasurable, and he'd given his body to others in the past, even when he'd been at home on his own planet. But before Ianto, he'd never found anyone who satisfied him so completely.

Even Jack hadn't been able to do that, though the immortal had always had a very high opinion of his prowess as a lover. His physical relationship with Jack had been a good one, but there wasn't the same all-consuming desire that he felt with Ianto.

No one had ever been able to arouse this kind of passion within him before -- and he was sure that no one else ever would. Ianto was his soul mate, the man he was meant to be with. There was no other person, in the past or future, who would even come close.

Ianto's arm around his waist tightened slightly, pulling him closer against the other man's body. The Doctor smiled as he felt those soft lips brush across his forehead; he tilted his head back to look up at Ianto, sure that his lover would look just as happy as he himself felt.

He wasn't wrong; the smile of contentment on Ianto's face matched his own. "What are you thinking about, sweetheart?" the Time Lord asked, his voice soft and husky. He wanted to know just what sorts of thoughts could bring that look of happiness to Ianto's face.

"I'm thinking about us, of course," Ianto answered, his tone just as happy as his expression. "About how much I love being with you, and how it's so hard for me to believe that I could have been lucky enough to have you in my life."

The Doctor slid one slender arm around Ianto's waist, resting his head on his young lover's shoulder. "I was thinking about much the same thing," he murmured, pressing a kiss to the hollow at the base of Ianto's throat. "It's hard for me to believe that I've finally found my soul mate."

"Isn't it strange that you had to go all of these centuries, in so many different bodies, to finally find the man you were fated to be with?" Ianto mused, looking contemplative. "I'd have thought you would have found your soul mate long ago."

The Doctor shook his head, laughing softly as he raised a hand to trace the shape of a heart over Ianto's chest. "The man I was fated to be with wasn't ready to be with me at any other time. The timing had to be right for our souls to come together."

"Maybe I had to go through my first same-sex relationship with Jack to be ready for a more meaningful relationship with you," Ianto said, his tone thoughtful. "A sort of .... trial run, so to speak. If I hadn't been with him, I might not have been ready for this."

The Doctor nodded, a smile curving his lips. "I think you're right, love," he said, resting his head against Ianto's shoulder again. "You probably had to go through being with Jack to realise that you didn't have to hide who you really are."

"I know one thing that I didn't have to wait for," Ianto said, his voice growing stronger with his words. "I'd have known at any time of my life that you were my soul mate, Doctor. Your hearts would have spoken to mine, no matter when we'd found each other."

"I'm sure that's true, Ianto -- but would you have been able to accept being with a man openly at some earlier point in your life?" the Time Lord pointed out. "You were unsure about your relationship with Jack at the beginning, you've said -- you might have been the same way with me."

Ianto was silent for a moment as he contemplated the Doctor's words. "You may be right about that," he said slowly, sighing. "As much as I hate to admit it, there was a part of me that questioned whether or not it was 'right' for me to be with a man when I was with Jack."

"That was because you'd spent so much of your life feeling that you had to hide your true self," the Time Lord told him, laying his palm flat on Ianto's chest to feel his heartbeat. "But you broke away from that, sweetheart. I'm so proud of you for having that kind of strength and courage."

"I doubt that I'd have found that strength if I hadn't fallen in love with you," Ianto whispered, stroking a hand down the Doctor's arm. "I didn't really have the courage to be open in my relationship with Jack until near the end. But with you, it's different."

"With Jack, you were just discovering who you were," the Doctor said, his words coming out slowly. "When you and I met, there was an immediate connection. I think that we both knew that we were meant for each other, even though we didn't act on it from the beginning."

"Speak for yourself!" Ianto laughed, shaking his head. "I acted, remember? I left you all those flowers and love notes in the Tardis. And she even helped me, by making sure that I could get in. I think she appreciated me making the first move."

"I wanted to make a move," the Doctor murmured, his tone suddenly soft and introspective. "I wanted to so badly. But I had no idea how you would feel about me -- and whether or not you still had some residual feelings for Jack."

Ianto shook his head, his voice firm when he spoke. "No, Doctor, I don't. Not since the first moment I met you. I still care for him, of course -- Jack will always be a good friend. But nothing more than that. You're the love of my life -- the other half of my soul."

The Doctor's hearts leaped when he heard those words; no matter how many times Ianto said them, he never tired of hearing those sentiments. No one else had ever said them -- not with such passion and such utter devotion as Ianto did.

Other people had told him in the past that he meant a great deal to them -- some had even told him that he meant everything in their lives. He'd been grateful that they'd thought so, but he'd known in his hearts that they weren't speaking the entire truth.

They might have thought that he was their everything, but none of them were his soul mate. None of them could feel the deep bond with him that Ianto did; they cared for him, but what he and Ianto shared went far deeper than mere caring, or even love.

Reaching for Ianto's hand, he raised it to his lips, kissing his young lover's fingertips before he raised himself on one elbow, looking into the other man's eyes. "You are my everything, Ianto," he whispered, his dark eyes filling with tears. "You always have been."

Blinking, he managed to hold the tears back. Why did he always have to get so emotional when he and Ianto talked about their feelings for each other? Probably because he'd never, in all of his long life, thought that he would actually have this.

Ianto was a gift, a treasure. He'd never expected to find his soul mate, to have his life become as happy and fulfilled as it had been since he'd met this man. He had thought that he would always be alone, or have to fill in that gap with companions who were merely friends.

But he didn't have to settle for that. He'd found the other half of his soul, the man who he was meant to be mated with. It had taken him centuries to do so, but looking at Ianto, the Doctor knew that what they shared had been worth the long wait.

"And you're mine," Ianto said softly, his own eyes suspiciously bright. "For all of my life -- and beyond." He squeezed the Doctor's hand gently, a smile on his lips as he gazed into his lover's eyes. That beautiful smile that the Time Lord knew was meant only for him.

Ianto's arm tightened around his waist as he settled into the crook of the younger man's arm again, closing his eyes and resting his head against Ianto's shoulder. This was indeed where he was meant to be -- the one place in the universe where his soul would always be at peace.

***