Title: Unfair Advantage
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Rating: R
Table: 1, 10_prompts
Prompt: 6, Control
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 opened his eyes, all of his senses on alert. What could have awakened him so precipitately and made his heart beat in double time? He lay there for a few moments, blinking, trying to get his bearings and shake away sleep.

He realized within a few seconds that it was the Doctor's tossing and turning that had pulled him out of the realm of sleep. The Time Lord was still asleep, moaning softly, his head turning from side to side, obviously in the throes of a nightmare.

Ianto propped himself up on one elbow, uncertain of how to wake his lover. He didn't want the Doctor to lash out at him without realizing who he was, but he didn't want to let the man he loved spend one more moment in obvious distress.

Taking a deep breath, he reached out to shake the Doctor's shoulder, hoping that it would awaken the other man. When it didn't, he sat up, shaking harder and sliding his other arm around the Time Lord's slim waist to pull him close.

With a soft cry, the Doctor's eyes snapped open; his gaze darted around the room before fixing on Ianto. The young man raised a hand to smooth a lock of hair back from the Doctor's forehead, keeping his gaze riveted on the Time Lord's face.

"Shhh, love, it's all right," he murmured, hoping that the gentle tone of his voice would help to soothe the Doctor's agitation. Once he was sufficiently calmed down, he'd ask the other man about the nightmare, and hope that the Doctor would be able to talk about it.

The Doctor didn't answer him; he only burrowed into Ianto's arms, his thin arms sliding around his young lover's waist and grasping him tightly. Ianto was surprised by the intensity of that embrace; it was as though the Time Lord was trying to hide from something.

Well, considering that he'd obviously just struggled out of a terrible nightmare, maybe he was. Ianto bowed his head to brush his lips across the Doctor's hair; he wasn't going to rush his lover into telling him what was wrong. He would wait until the Gallifreyan was ready to talk.

He could feel those dual hearts pounding in the Doctor's chest; their steady, strong beat never ceased to comfort him and reassure him that the other man was by his side. But this time, the Doctor was the one who was in need of comfort, Ianto reminded himself.

The Doctor's breath was coming in shallow gasps, his skin clammy, his body trembling in Ianto's arms. The young man couldn't help but wonder what he could have been dreaming about to cause this kind of a reaction, but he knew better than to ask at the moment.

All he could do was sit here and hold his lover, let the Doctor's hearts calm and his agitation fade away. Hopefully, it had only been a bad dream -- though those dreams seemed to be attacking the Time Lord more often lately, and getting more fierce each time.

After what seemed like a very long time, the Time Lord's breathing slowly returned to normal, and his trembling ceased. He leaned against Ianto, his arms slowly loosening their grip around the young man's waist, his hearts slowing down to their normal rate.

"I-I'm sorry, Ianto," the Doctor whispered, not raising his head as he spoke. "I didn't mean to frighten you. I was .... it was a nightmare. A particularly bad one. I'm sorry that it disturbed you -- if I'd known, maybe I could have stopped it."

Ianto shook his head, placing a finger under the Doctor's chin to raise his lover's face to his. "No, you couldn't have," he said softly, lowering his head to press a gentle kiss to those parted lips. "And I don't mind being woken by a bad dream. I have them too, you know."

"I've been having them more and more lately." The Doctor sighed, fixing his gaze on the wall of their bedroom as though he was fascinated by the pattern of the wallpaper. "I wish they didn't bother you -- but I suppose that's inevitable when we're sharing a bed."

"It was another dream about the Master, wasn't it?" Ianto asked before he could stop the words from coming out. He hadn't meant to be so blunt, but the question was out now, and he couldn't take it back or wish those words unsaid.

The Doctor took a deep breath, nodding and looking away from Ianto. "Yes. But ... not so much a dream as .... a m-memory." His voice shook, the words unsteady. "I don't like to dredge up those memories, but I can't stop my unconscious mind from doing it sometimes."

"I wish there was some way to make all of those memories go away so you'd never have to be bothered with them again," Ianto whispered, his arms tightening around the Doctor as he pulled the other man closer against him. "I hate that he sneaks into your dreams like that."

"It's not so much the memory, as the way it makes me feel," the Doctor murmured, his voice catching in his throat. "He's always wanted to control me, Ianto. To dominate me. And in my dreams, I feel myself giving in to that control, letting him do it."

"You might have been forced to give in to him when he had you captive, but you don't have to do it in your dreams," Ianto said, hating himself for the words as soon as they were out. Of course the Doctor didn't have a choice -- these were memories, after all.

"If it was possible for me to change those memories, to make them work out differently -- then you know I would," the Doctor sighed, shaking his head. "But I can't, Ianto. I could feel myself slipping into his control when it was actually happening, and the dreams bring that back."

"He doesn't control you, Doctor," Ianto said, trying to keep his voice firm. "He never will. He might want to, he might like to think he does, but he can't. You're too strong for that. You'll never give in to him, no matter what he might think."

"There have been times when I've come so close to giving in," the Doctor whispered, burying his face against Ianto's shoulder. "It would have been so much easier to give in and let him have what he wanted than to keep fighting him. I've come so close."

"But you never let him have that control, did you?" Ianto countered, wanting to push away the guilt feelings he was sure that the Doctor was experiencing. "You never let him win. You're not the kind of man to take the easy way out, Doctor."

"I've let him control me," the Time Lord whispered, his voice breaking on the words. "When he's been inside me .... when he knew I was at my most vulnerable. I told him what he wanted to hear. I let him know that I wanted him. I let him win."

"That doesn't mean anything," Ianto said, hearing his voice rise to a slightly higher pitch. He took a deep breath, forcing his agitation down. He had to keep himself calm. It wasn't going to do the Doctor's state of mind any good if he let himself lose his cool.

"He was using sex to control you, Doctor -- and that's a physical reaction," Ianto said, keeping his tone of voice calm and level. "He was using an unfair advantage. That's the only way he can win -- if he cheats. And he knows it."

The Doctor heaved a sigh, not raising his head from Ianto's shoulder. "I suppose you're right, love," he said, his voice soft and regretful. "But that doesn't change the fact that I still gave in. I still let him control me, even though he did take an unfair advantage."

"It's not going to happen again," Ianto said, hoping fervently that he could make that statement a reality. "I won't let him touch you again, Doctor. Not in that way. I'd rather let him do anything he wanted to me than let him lay a finger on you again."

"Don't say that, Ianto." The Doctor's voice had sunk to a whisper; his tone was unsteady again, his voice trembling. "It would kill me to see him touch you. And he knows that. Don't ever offer him that kind of control. If you do -- then he has both of us by default."

Ianto nodded reluctantly, knowing that the Doctor was right. The Master knew that the easiest way to gain control over the Doctor was to threaten those closest to him -- and no one was closer to him than the man who was his lover and his soul mate.

"He's not going to wield control over either one of us," Ianto whispered, hoping that the Doctor couldn't sense his fear and uncertainty. If the Master could somehow reach into the Doctor's dreams, there was no telling what kind of control he might have over the Time Lord.

That was a sobering thought. Ianto didn't want to think that the Master was somehow controlling his lover's dreams, but it seemed that could be possible. All they could do was wait and see if those dreams became worse -- or if the Master came bursting into their lives with some new threat.

If he did, they could only hope that they would be prepared for it. They would have to be, Ianto thought to himself, stroking the Doctor's soft hair and trying to soothe the other man as best he could. Because if they weren't, there was no telling what kind of advantage the Master might have.

***