Title: Turn Back the Clock
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG
Table: 11
Prompt: 6, New Year
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 looked down at the revelers in the London streets, smiling as he did so. He was glad enough not to be down there with them; he preferred to bring in a new year here in this hotel room with his lover, just the two of them together.

Of course, if Ianto had wanted to go out in the crowd and celebrate the new year in a more boisterous way, he'd give in and go along. After all, this only happened once a year, and Ianto didn't have the kind of life span that he did.

He could afford not to really notice when another year was dawning for the human race. But it had always been something important for Ianto, and he was trying his best to observe the same holidays that his boyfriend made much of.

That wouldn't bring him any closer to being human, of course .... but it some ways, it made him feel closer to Ianto, one more element of the bond between them.

It really didn't look like much fun to him, being out there in the freezing cold amongst a huge crowd of people. He much preferred the company of one special person, with the two of them bringing in a new year in their own special way.

That was certainly a turnaround, wasn't it? The Doctor couldn't help chuckling to himself at the thought. He'd always had a dread of being completely alone; for so long he had tried to surround himself with as many people as he could.

And now here he was, admitting to himself that it was more important to him to spend time with the most special person in his life than to be in a crowd of others. Maybe that meant that he was learning something of life -- and something more about himself.

He sighed softly as he felt Ianto's arms slip around his waist from behind, leaning back against his lover's chest with a feeling of contentment.

"We can go out there if you want to," Ianto murmured, his soft lips trailing along the Doctor's throat. "But I thought it would be nice to have some time to ourselves. Not that we don't have that most of the time on the Tardis -- but it's a bit different here."

The Doctor shook his head, smiling and wondering just how Ianto seemed to know what he was thinking. "You must be a mind-reader, love. Has my telepathy somehow managed to transfer itself to you? I wouldn't doubt it."

Now it was Ianto's turn to laugh as he raised a hand to stroke his fingertips lightly across the Time Lord's cheek. "No, I don't think so. It just seemed to me that you were looking a little wistful about being here instead of out there."

He couldn't help smiling, realizing that Ianto hadn't read his thoughts at all. Well, he'd gotten part of it right, anyway.

The Doctor shook his head again, turning his gaze away from the window. "No, that's not what I meant," he told his lover. "I thought that it was lovely having this time to ourselves, not that I wanted to be there. I'm perfectly happy right where I am."

"So am I," Ianto concurred, resting his chin on the Doctor's shoulder as his eyes took in the crowd a few stories below. "They certainly look happy, don't they? But I don't think I'd want to be out there in the cold. It's too .... impersonal."

"That's just what I was thinking," the Doctor answered, his gaze moving down to the street again. "It might be fun for them, but I prefer to spend my time with you. If I was there, I'd be thinking of being here. So it's as well that we decided to stay in tonight."

"I have a feeling that you haven't spent many new years like this," Ianto said, his brows raised to indicate that his words were something of a question, not a statement.

The Doctor shook his head, turning his head to smile at his lover. "No, I haven't," he said softly, not wanting to admit to Ianto that most of his new year celebrations had found him alone on the Tardis, or with a new companion who he didn't know very well.

He didn't want to tell Ianto that in the past, the new year hadn't really seemed like such a special occasion to him. After all, for him, a year was but the blink of an eye. It wasn't the momentous day that it obviously could be to humans.

Ianto didn't need to know that. He didn't need to be made to feel as though there was a large cultural gap between himself and the Doctor. And after all, the Time Lord reasoned with himself, he really did like the idea of celebrating a new year.

It didn't matter that this wasn't something he was used to doing on his own home world. It was a tradition for Ianto, and he wanted to make it one for himself as well.

One of the important things about being involved with someone who had different traditions in their life was trying to assimilate those traditions into his own life. He'd done so with Christmas, a long time ago. It was time for him to celebrate ringing in the new year along with it.

But he had to wonder how Ianto had celebrated those traditions in the past. He couldn't help asking; it was something that he'd been curious about for a while. Just how had Ianto spent his holidays before the two of them had been together?

"Do you ever wish that you could turn back the clock and celebrate the holidays the same way you did in the past?" he asked, his voice soft. He was almost hesitant to voice the question; he didn't want Ianto to think that he was dissatisfied in any way.

He wasn't, of course. He was simply curious as to how the young man felt about being here, spending his holidays in a different way than he was probably used to doing.

"No, not at all." Ianto's voice was as soft as his own, but the words were spoken in a firm tone. "The past is over and done with, Doctor. I don't have any wish to ever turn back the clock. I'm happy with where I am -- and who I'm with."

The Doctor could have sworn that he felt his hearts expanding in his chest at Ianto's words; he'd known that the young man loved him, but any time he heard his lover express sentiments like that, it made him feel considerably choked up.

No one had ever said words like that to him before. Oh, there had been people who'd expressed similar feelings -- but they'd always had a ring of insincerity to them. And the Doctor had always known in his hearts that their feelings couldn't last.

But with Ianto, it was different. This young man was with him for as long as fate would let them be together. This was his soul mate, his destiny.

"Neither do I." The Doctor glanced down at the street again; there were lights flashing in the darkness, people raising glasses, smiling and laughing, obviously having a good time. People who seemed to be happy with their lives, and how they were living them.

They apparently wouldn't have wanted to turn back the clock, either. They were taking a step into a new year, a year that they probably hoped would bring them happiness and prosperity. Just as the Doctor hoped his next year with Ianto would be.

"Besides, if I turned back the clock -- then I wouldn't be here with you," Ianto whispered into his ear. "And that would indicate that I'm not happy exactly where I am, which wouldn't be true. Don't ever have any fears about me wanting to go back into the past, Doctor. I never will."

As though to prove the truth of his words, Ianto wrapped his arms around the Doctor, pulling him close. As their lips met, the Doctor's last coherent thought was that he might not want to turn back the clock -- but he almost wished that it would stop and keep them in this moment forever.

***