Title: At the Chime of A City Clock
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 3, 50episodes
Prompt: 15, Midnight
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.

***

"Do you know what's supposed to happen at the stroke of midnight?" Ianto asked the Doctor, indicating the darkened sky above them, twinkling with pinpricks of stars. "There are so many tales about it that I can't help but wonder which ones are true."

"Well, I don't think the one about the Tardis turning into a pumpkin, and me becoming a coachman mouse, is going to win you any points for being realistic," the Time Lord chuckled, turning his head to look at his lover as they strolled along the sidewalk.

"There's a story about the Tardis turning into a pumpkin?" Ianto managed to look properly startled, but he couldn't keep back the amused sparkle in his eyes, and within a few moments he was laughing. The Doctor joined in, reaching for Ianto's hand.

"No, love, there isn't," he said softly, squeezing the younger man's hand. "But sometimes I wish that there were stories like that from Gallifrey. My people weren't big on things like fairy tales to amuse children with. They were .... well, much more serious."

"I'm sorry about that, love," Ianto told him, returning the gentle squeeze. "Every child should grow up with things like fairy tales to give them a sense of wonder. I'm sorry that you had to grow up in an atmosphere that didn't believe in that kind of fantasy life."

"Oh, I had my fantasies," the Doctor said with a smile. "Though at the time, I fully believed in them. I had the fantasy of becoming a Time Lord -- that was all I wanted when I was a child. And I was one of the lucky ones. My fantasy actually came true."

"And the entire world is glad that it did!" Ianto assured him with a laugh. "If you hadn't become a Time Lord, then I'd never have met you. And that would have been a tragedy -- for both of us," he added softly, his dark eyes focused on the Doctor's face.

"If I hadn't become a Time Lord, I would have died long ago," the Doctor said, his voice husky. "I wouldn't have been in the world to know that you existed, Ianto. And I'd never have found out who the person was that I was supposed to bond with and spend my life with."

"Well, that didn't happen -- and we did find each other," Ianto said firmly, wanting to take both of their thoughts away from the morbid line that they seemed to be taking. "Anyway, back to what I originally said. About what happens at the stroke of midnight."

"Should I be fitted for a glass slipper?" the Doctor asked, his tone teasing. "I don't think my feet would look too good in those. I prefer my trainers, anyway. They're much easier to run in -- and I think they're probably much more comfortable!"

"I'm sure they are!" Ianto laughed, slipping his arm around the Doctor's waist and pulling the Time Lord close against him as they walked along. "Besides, I prefer you in a state where you're not wearing shoes -- or anything else, for that matter."

"Ianto, behave yourself!" The Doctor raised a finger to his lips, making a shushing sign. "Not that there's anyone around to hear, but we don't want our personal lives to be overheard." His laughter rang out again, lighthearted and happy.

It had been too long since he'd seen his lover in such a happy mood. Ianto only hoped that things would stay like this for a while; after the life-changing events that they'd both been through so recently, they both needed a respite from the danger that always seemed to be a part of their lives.

They were certainly getting it now, he told himself, looking up at the sky again as they slowly walked down the London street, his gaze roaming over the stars and wondering which one of them they would be visiting when they went back out into the galaxy.

He glanced at his watch, then stopped, still looking up at the sky. Of course, the Doctor was obliged to stop too, turning to look at Ianto with raised brows and a surprised expression on his features. He hadn't been expecting his lover to stand there as if turned to stone.

"Why are we stopping, Ianto?" the Doctor inquired, his tone curious. "If you've heard or seen something, please tell me what it is -- because I didn't hear or see anything, or even sense trouble. If that's an ability you've acquired, I'd like to share in it!"

"I was just waiting for the clock to chime midnight," Ianto said, his voice barely above a whisper. "It's one of the things that I always listened for when I lived in London -- it just gave me this feeling that all was well, no matter how unsettled my life seemed to be at the time."

The Doctor nodded, moving closer to his lover. "I can understand that," he said, his own voice nearly as soft as Ianto's had been. "I never listened for a clock to chime, but when I was younger, there were some things on Gallifrey that gave me the same feeling."

"I'll have to get you to tell me about them someday," Ianto said -- just as Big Ben began to chime. Ianto closed his eyes, his arm tightening around the Doctor's waist, listening as the sound of the clock's chimes rang throughout the slumbering city.

When the last chime died away, Ianto still stood there, his eyes closed, as though he was savoring the aftereffects of the sound. The Doctor didn't move or make a sound, simply standing there patiently, waiting for his young lover to come out of the seeming trance he was in.

"The stroke of midnight," Ianto whispered, finally opening his eyes and turning slightly to look at the Time Lord. "And neither of us have turned into mice, or pumpkins. We're not dressed in rags, and we're not clutching at glass slippers that don't fit."

"I doubt if the Tardis has turned into a pumpkin -- though we'll have to get to her to find out," the Doctor murmured with a soft laugh. "I certainly hope she hasn't turned into a vegetable -- it would be hard for us to go back out into time and space if that's happened."

"I don't think the Tardis would turn into a pumpkin at the chime of a city clock," Ianto said with a laugh, shaking his head. He pulled the Doctor close in a warm hug, brushing a gentle kiss across the Time Lord's cheek. "We'd definitely have some problems if she did."

"Those stories about princesses with glass slippers, and pumpkin coaches, have always interested me," the Doctor murmured as they resumed their slow pace, continuing on their way to the ship. "Fairy tales aren't always just for children, you know."

"The original versions of human fairy tales were pretty dark," Ianto mused, thinking about the various things he'd read about fairy tales over the years. "How they ended up being thought of as being only for children, I'll never understand."

"Sometimes I think our life together feels like a fairy tale," the Doctor told him, his arm tightening around Ianto's waist. "Especially after everything that happened that day in the Hub. I'm still getting used to the idea that I can actually be with you forever -- in this body."

"I'm having a hard time getting used to the idea that I'll never die," Ianto murmured, glancing at the Doctor. "But it's something we're both going to have to come to terms with. Considering how it was thrust upon us, I'd say we're not doing too bad of a job so far."

"I think we're doing a fantastic job!" the Doctor told him, his countenance brightening as he spoke. "No one could have expected this to happen, and I think we're coping well with it. We're doing the best we can under the circumstances, aren't we?"

"I'd say we are," Ianto agreed with a soft laugh. "And we'll eventually get used to this. I'm sure that by this time next year, we won't think of being immortal and not regenerating as being odd at all. I think we can get used to anything, given enough time."

"I wonder if we'll be here again this time next year, listening to Big Ben chime and watching the stars?" the Doctor murmured, looking up at the velvety darkness spread above the city, the stars twinkling in the heavens. "I hope so. I like the idea of revisiting our past, in a way."

"And at the chime of a city clock, on the stroke of midnight if the Tardis doesn't turn into a pumpkin, we can," Ianto told him with a smile. "If we click our heels together three times, and say --" He broke off as the Doctor doubled over in a fit of laughter.

This was the first time that Ianto had felt he and the Doctor had truly laughed together since everything had happened -- and it felt wonderful. He hoped that they would have many more moments like this in the future -- and that those moments would happen more often.

***