Title: Unconditional Love
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: Epsilon, challenge_the
Prompt: 10, Unconditional
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 closed his eyes, leaning back into Ianto's embrace and feeling more safe and secure than he had in a long time. What was it about this young man that could give him the kind of peace that he'd never known with anyone else?

That was a silly question, he thought with an inward smile. He had that kind of peace with Ianto because this man was his soul mate, the one he'd been destined for since the moment of his birth -- even though he'd been born long centuries before Ianto had even existed.

Of course, it also had to do with the fact that Ianto was one person who didn't expect anything from him. He didn't have to be a hero, or a father figure, or anything else other than exactly who he was. Ianto accepted him in every way.

He'd never had that sort of unconditional love and acceptance from anyone before, he reflected, settling himself into the younger man's embrace. All of his companions had harbored expectations, whether they would admit it or not.

"What are you thinking about?" Ianto asked, his voice soft in the Doctor's ear. The Time Lord half-turned his head to look up at his lover, smiling as he leaned back against the young man's chest. "You seem lost in thought, love."

"I was thinking about the two of us," the Doctor said softly, reaching for Ianto's hand and twining their fingers together. "About how you're the only person I've ever gotten unconditional acceptance from. It's a new feeling for me."

"But you've had a lot of companions before me," Ianto protested, looking surprised. "You can't believe that they didn't all accept you. After all, they traveled with you -- and from what you've told me, some of them were with you for a long time."

"It's not that they didn't accept me." The Doctor sighed, not knowing quite how to articulate just what he meant. "They did, to a point. But they expected me to live up to their vision of me. They didn't love me unconditionally."

"I don't think I could love you in any other way," Ianto murmured, running his fingers through the Time Lord's hair. "From the moment I first saw you, it was like .... my senses were full of you. I could swear my heart stopped beating for a few seconds."

"I had the same reaction to you," the Doctor chuckled, turning his head to rest his cheek against his lover's shoulder. "I couldn't believe that there could be a human being who captured my senses in the way you did. It didn't seem possible."

"The only person who didn't seem to be surprised at our reactions to each other was Jack." Ianto smiled at the remembrance. "I think he expected it. He almost had the attitude that he'd brought us together purposely, didn't he?"

"A part of me can't help wondering if he did," the Doctor mused, his tone thoughtful. "He seemed to be very eager for me to meet you -- and he talked you up a lot. For a while, I thought that he was still madly in love with you, even though your relationship had ended."

"He was never madly in love with me," Ianto said with a wry smile. "Jack cared about me, I don't doubt that for a second. But he's not the kind of man who falls madly in love with anyone. If he's ever been in love with anyone, it's you."

"Me?" The Doctor blinked, looking surprised. "I think you're wrong there, Ianto. Jack and I were fond of each other, but unconditional love -- or even falling deeply in love -- isn't Jack's style. No, his feelings for me only went to a certain point and no further."

"What we have with each other goes much deeper than what either of us had with Jack," Ianto agreed, his arms tightening around the Doctor's slim waist. "We should thank him sometime for introducing us to each other."

"Yes, we should," the Doctor murmured with a smile. "Though I believe that we would have found each other regardless of whether Jack helped us to that or not. There's no force in the universe that could have kept me from finding my soul mate."

"Is it strange that the two of us should belong together?" Ianto asked softly, a note of anxiety creeping into his voice. "After all, there are so many differences between us. I don't want them to eventually drive us apart at some point."

The Doctor shook his head, his voice firm and strong when he spoke. "There's no way that could happen, Ianto," he said, squeezing his lover's hand reassuringly. "Yes, there are differences between us, but in some ways they're what brings us together."

"The differences don't bother me at all," Ianto told him, looking relieved. "Though I can't help but wonder sometimes if it bothers you to know that you've bonded with a human who has a much shorter life span than you do."

The Time Lord shook his head again, the gesture punctuated by a soft sigh. "That isn't something that we should dwell on, Ianto. We're together now, and we need to make the most of the time that we have rather than thinking about when we'll be parted."

"We won't ever be truly parted, you know," Ianto whispered, bowing his head to brush his lips across the Doctor's cheek. "Unconditional love doesn't end. You'll always have me -- and I'll always love you. Through time and space, through eternity."

"I know you will," the Doctor answered, closing his eyes and resting his head against Ianto's shoulder. "And I'll always love you, Ianto. Even though we won't always be together in the physical realm, you'll always have my hearts. And my unconditional love."

Ianto needed no words to reply to the Time Lord; his reply was a kiss, only a gentle brushing of their lips at first. After a few moments, the Doctor's lips parted, the kiss rapidly growing from a spark into a roaring conflagration that threatened to consume them both.

This was the kind of love he'd always needed, the Doctor thought as Ianto's mouth claimed his. A love that was only to be found with his soul mate, the man who he'd always been intended for. And now that he'd found that love, he never intended to let it go.

***