Title: Unbreakable
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 3, 50ficlets
Prompt: 26, Words
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.

***

Ianto took a deep breath as he clasped his hands behind his back, waiting for the Doctor to join him in the control room of the Tardis. This was a big day for the two of them -- the day that they would bond to each other not only for their life spans, but for eternity.

It was a huge step for him as well, Ianto told himself, but one that he was more than ready to take. He would have whisked the Doctor off and married him the morning after they'd first made love if the Time Lord would have let him.

Bonding was like marriage for the Doctor, and Ianto took the ceremony very seriously. This would unite the two of them in an unbreakable bond for all of time; even after Ianto's human life span was over, their bond would still be strong.

Ianto couldn't help but be worried by that fact; once he was gone, he didn't want the Doctor to feel that he was condemned to traveling the galaxy alone. But the Doctor had told him in no uncertain terms that once they'd bonded, he couldn't simply break that bond and form another.

No, once he and the Doctor were mated, it was for life. Ianto would obviously die long before the Doctor would -- but the Time Lord would keep on with his life, keeping their bond strong. And according to the Doctor, they would still be together in their hearts.

"Once we're bonded, that bond is unbreakable, Ianto," he'd whispered while they were in bed together, wrapped in each other's arms. "Our hearts will always resonate with each other, even if one of us isn't in this physical realm. We'll always be together."

He'd shed tears over those words then -- and the memory of them made a lump form in his throat now. He had never expected to find anyone who would love him as fiercely as the Doctor did -- whose love would still be with him even after he was gone.

Was the Doctor right? Would their love transcend time, still be strong after one of them no longer existed in the physical realm that they were in now? Only time would tell, Ianto said to himself, taking a deep breath as he glanced around the control room.

He had to think that his spirit would somehow sustain the Doctor after he was gone. If he didn't, then he would spend the entire time that he did have with the Time Lord worrying about how his lover would cope with losing him.

And that, Ianto told himself, drawing himself up to his full height and straightening the lapels of the tux that the Doctor had insisted he wear, wasn't an option. He wanted to enjoy every minute, every second that he was with the man he loved.

Of course, they weren't going to spend every moment of their time together enjoying each other. There were other priorities in their lives -- and there was always the threat of the Master hanging over the two of them, a threat that never quite went away.

But he would be able to spend the rest of his life by the side of his soul mate, the man he'd been meant for since long before his birth. In a galaxy full of people, it still amazed Ianto that the two of them had actually managed to find each other.

Ianto took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. He'd heard that everyone was like this before their own wedding, but he hadn't expected to feel so nervous and jumpy. After all, this was just for himself and the Doctor; they wouldn't have any kind of an audience.

He jumped and uttered a surprised yelp when the Doctor's arms slid around his waist; he'd been so lost in thought that he hadn't heard the Time Lord come into the control room. "Are you ready, sweetheart?" his lover asked, his voice soft and breathy in Ianto's ear.

He nodded, taking another deep breath to calm his jangled nerves. "As ready as I'll ever be," he murmured, turning to face his lover. The Doctor's appearance took his breath away; the Time Lord could always manage to look incredible in a tux.

But it wasn't how the Doctor looked that he wanted to focus on; it was the words that he would say, words that came from the very depths of his soul. Words that would form a bond between them forever, an even deeper bond than the one they already shared.

That thought didn't frighten him or make him feel uneasy, Ianto realized with some surprise. It seemed inevitable, as though this was where the two of them had been heading ever since the first touch, the first smile, the first kiss.

The Doctor didn't answer; he only smiled and crooked his arm for Ianto to slip a hand through it. They went out of the Tardis together, to the moonlit garden where they would make their vows of bonding to each other -- words that would echo in their hearts and souls for all eternity.

***