Title: Young At Heart
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 5_prompts, Month of November challenge
Prompt: Day 10 - You keep me young
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 leaned back in the easy chair in the library of the Tardis, relaxing and closing his eyes. It had been a long time since he had felt so comfortable; after that last encounter with Master, he had felt older, more used, as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders.

But at the same time, a part of him felt younger and more rejuvenated just by thinking of the man who was by his side. He opened his eyes to look over at Ianto, who was curled up on the couch with a book in his hands. The Doctor wondered if he was actually reading.

He was sure that Ianto wasn't doing so; he rather thought that his lover was keeping an anxious eye on him. That was another thing that made him feel old sometimes; no one had ever seemed to feel that they had to watch over him, not even when he was in a body that looked older than this one.

But that was just Ianto's nature, a voice in the back of his mind piped up. His lover had a nurturing streak in him; he was the kind of man who would care for the person he was with, make sure that they were as safe and protected as they could possibly be.

Protecting him wasn't always that easy, the Doctor thought wryly. He had always seemed to be a magnet for trouble -- and never quite so much as he was in this body. Maybe that was simply because this body attracted the Master more than any other body he'd been in did.

That definitely wasn't a good thing, though he had to admit that it appealed to his vanity, in a strange way. He liked knowing that he was in such an attractive body; it was one that he didn't want to lose, and after that experience with the Rift, he never would.

He would stay young and attractive for the rest of his life; this body was his forever. Ianto would never have to deal with trying to love him in a body that he might not be attracted to; it seemed that so many of their problems had been solved by that fateful encounter.

It still didn't seem possible that he would never have to face another regeneration, and that Ianto was now immortal. So much had happened in what felt like such a short time; maybe he was still trying to process it all. It didn't feel as if it had quite sunk in yet.

"Is something wrong, Doctor?" Ianto's voice broke into his musings; he turned his gaze back to his young lover, focusing on him with a smile. "You seem so thoughtful, more so than usual. Is there something that's bothering you? Anything I can help with?"

The Doctor shook his head, sitting up straighter in the comfortable chair and leaning forward. "No, love, there's nothing bothering me," he said softly, shaking his head as he spoke. "I was just thinking about us, and how we've changed so much recently."

"One thing hasn't changed," Ianto told him, his voice soft and husky. "How I feel about you will never change. No matter what happens, I'll always love you, and I'll always be here for you. I hope you never lose sight of that, and never feel that you're alone. Because you won't be."

"I know that, sweetheart." The Doctor leaned forward, reaching to take Ianto's hand in his own and twine their fingers together. "You keep me young, Ianto, even though I'm not. I know this body looks young, but in terms of years, I'm not. You give me back my youth."

"You'll always be young at heart, Doctor," Ianto said softly, raising a hand to stroke gentle fingers down the Time Lord's cheek. "And thanks to that encounter, you'll always be young and beautiful. And I'll always be young, too. Or at least, we'll both always look young."

"Well, it's said that being young at heart is more important than actually being youthful," the Doctor said with a laugh, getting up from the chair to sit down beside Ianto on the couch. "I have to agree with that. I have the wisdom -- I hope -- of age, but not the looks of it."

"You'll never look old to me, not even if you live to be a million years old and you have wrinkles and grey hair," Ianto told him with a soft laugh. "To me, you'll always be the most beautiful man I've ever seen. And you'll always be young at heart."

"I've thought you were the most beautiful man in the universe from the first moment I set eyes on you," the Doctor murmured, blushing slightly once the words were out. "I might not have wanted to admit it from the start, but I was attracted to you from our first meeting."

"You know how I felt about you!" Ianto laughed, shaking his head. "Those roses and love notes made no mistake of my feelings, did they? It might have been a bit overboard, but I couldn't stop myself. I wanted to get your attention -- and I definitely succeeded."

"Yes, you did, love," the Doctor said fondly, squeezing Ianto's hand as the younger man slid an arm around his waist. He leaned his head against his lover's shoulder, sighing contentedly. "Did you ever think that we would end up like this, when we were first together?"

"I wasn't thinking about how we would end up back then," Ianto admitted, raising a hand to stroke the Doctor's hair. "I was only thinking about how much I wanted to be with you. And that's still true, Doctor. I still want to spend all of eternity with you -- and beyond."

"And you will, Ianto," the Doctor told him, his voice soft and husky with emotion. "We'll be together for all time -- and we'll still both be young at heart when we're ancient. You keep me young, my love. You have from the first, just by being with me."

"You make me feel as though I'm invincible -- even though I know I'm not," Ianto told him, his own voice as soft and loving as the Time Lord's was. "Immortal, but not invincible. But when I'm by your side, I feel that I can do anything. You keep me young, too, Doctor."

The Doctor closed his eyes, relaxing in Ianto's embrace, feeling that all was right with the world as long as he was here with the man he loved. They belonged together; they had from their first meeting, even though he hadn't realized it at the time.

As long as he was with Ianto, he would stay young at heart. This man kept him young, lifted his spirits, made him feel as though he could do anything. Being with Ianto rejuvenated him in a way that nothing else could, as if he had found a fountain of youth.

"Then we'll be young together -- for all of eternity," he whispered, smiling as he raised his head from his lover's shoulder. When their lips met, any thought of age was swept away; when Ianto kissed him like this, he was forever young -- not just at heart, but in every fiber of his being.

***