Title: No Goodbyes
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Ianto Jones
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Rating: PG-13
Table: Holiday Non-Bingo, tv_universe
Prompt: 30, Farewell
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Tenth Doctor or Ianto Jones, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

"I still can hardly believe that I'm immortal," Ianto whispered as he and the Doctor stood on a hill just outside Cardiff, looking up at the night sky.

They had been to visit Ianto's family for Christmas, and the Doctor had to admit that though he still didn't care for his brother-in-law much, he liked the women in Ianto's family.

They hadn't seen his love's father, of course. That would have been disastrous.

But it had been a lovely Christmas for the both of them, the Doctor thought with a smile. There hadn't been too much tension, and Ianto had enjoyed the family time.

It felt so good to see his love happy and smiling, the Doctor thought, feeling contented with his lot. And it felt good to be back in Cardiff, too. For both of them.

Cardiff had always been a place he enjoyed, even before he'd had such personal ties here. The city just felt as though it welcomed him, and even though he knew that he could never fully fit in here, as he wasn't human, it still felt as if this place was more or less his home when he was on Earth.

Of course, that was probably just because it was his beloved Ianto's home, he thought with a soft smile. But then, the home of the man he loved was his home, as well.

If only he could show Ianto his own home, his beloved Gallifrey! But that wasn't possible; Gallifrey was long gone, and he was the only person in the universe with any fond memories of it.

But this wasn't a time for sadness, he told himself firmly.

He wanted this to be a happy holiday, for himself as well as for Ianto. There would be no slipping into memories of his home planet, and nothing to make him feel melancholy.

"Yet you are immortal, my love," he answered Ianto, his voice very soft and loving. "You can be with me forever. There'll be no goodbyes for us."

"That's a good thing," Ianto told him, a slight shiver going through his body as he leaned back into the Doctor's warm embrace. "I don't think I could stand that, Doctor. I'd thought that I could prepare myself for it, in time, but now I know that I would never have been able to do that."

"Neither would I, Ianto," the Doctor said with a soft sigh. "I would never have been able to get over losing you, even to something as inevitable as aging and death."

He had lost too many people to just that thing, the Doctor told himself. Losing his soul mate, the person he was destined to be with, would have been unbearable.

But that wouldn't happen now. There would be no goodbyes for himself and Ianto, just as he'd said. By some miracle of fate, Ianto could be with him forever, just as Jack would have been if the two of them had been capable of sustaining their relationship and staying together.

No, that hadn't been meant to happen. Because Jack wasn't the one he'd been intended for. He was meant to be with Ianto; he'd known that from the first time they had kissed.

Ianto Jones was the man he'd been intended for, even though they had been born eons apart, on different planets. This had had always been meant to be, written in the stars since time immemorial.

This man was his soul mate, perfect for him in every possible way.

"Never saying goodbye." Ianto sounded contented, his voice very soft and a little dreamy. "That's what I want, Doctor. To be with you forever. Until the end of time itself."

"And that's what you'll have, my Ianto," the Doctor told him, bowing his head to brush a gentle kiss across Ianto's cheek. "We'll never be parted, my love. No goodbyes. Not ever."

That was what he wanted, too, the Doctor thought, his smile curving his lips and showing on his face this time. To have Ianto by his side for eternity, to never have to say any painful goodbyes to the man he loved with all of his hearts and soul. He'd said too many goodbyes in the past.

But those goodbyes had been to people he cared about as friends, not people that he loved. No one before Ianto had ever been a part of him, part of the fabric of his very being.

Saying goodbye to this man would be impossible. If all of the events of the recent past hadn't happened, then when he'd inevitable have had to say goodbye to Ianto, he would have gone himself.

There would be no living without his love. He couldn't have kept going.

And now, there would be no reason to think of that. He and Ianto would be together forever; there would be no last goodbyes, no sadness, no inevitable parting.

"Happy new year, my love," the Doctor whispered, smiling as he watched a star streak across the sky. Whatever the next year might bring, he would be with the man he loved, and that would ensure his happiness.

***