Title: Cold Chills
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1, 50scenes
Prompt: 38, Malevolence
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 awoke with a start, sitting up in bed and pressing a hand against his chest. He didn't usually have nightmares, but this one had been so eerie, so vivid. It almost seemed real, and not just a figment of his imagination.

He gasped in air, taking deep breaths and trying to calm himself down. It wasn't a dream, not really. It had been an amalgamation of all the times he'd done battle with the Master, memories that had come back to haunt him in the guise of dreams.

Beside him, Ianto sat up, a worried frown on his face as he laid a hand on the Doctor's arm, then slipped the other arm around the Time Lord's slender shoulders. He pulled his lover close against him, letting the Doctor rest his head against his broad chest.

"What is it, love?" the young Welshman asked softly, brushing the tawny hair back from the Time Lord's forehead. "A bad dream, I'm assuming?"

The Doctor started to nod, but then shook his head, wanting to be truthful with his young lover. "No, not really a dream, Ianto. It's .... more like a lot of memories that won't go away. I try to keep them banished to the back of my mind, but they can attack unexpectedly."

Ianto sighed and nodded, resting his cheek against the softness of the Doctor's hair. "He'll always haunt your dreams, I'm afraid," he whispered, keeping the Doctor close against his body. "Until you know that he doesn't exist any more -- and I doubt that will happen for a long time to come."

"It certainly won't." The Doctor couldn't tell Ianto that he'd thought the Master was dead more than once -- but somehow, the other man always seemed to come back when he was least expected, like the proverbial penny.

"At least you know that he can't live forever," Ianto pointed out. "He has fewer regenerations left than you do, so he'll have to come to his last one soon. And that will be an end to it, without your having to do anything that you could feel guilty for."

"No, he can't -- but then again, neither can I," the Doctor told him, shaking his head. "And it's always been a battle to keep him from trying to do away with me. He knows that my guilt over doing him in is my greatest weakness, and he plays on that."

He sighed, leaning back against his lover, realizing that he was shaking. It was silly to be so unnerved by a dream -- well, not a dream, but a conglomeration of memories. He'd escaped from every situation that could give him a nightmare; it was all over and done with.

But that didn't stop his hearts from beating wildly in his chest, his breath from catching in his throat, and his mind from skittering with fear whenever he remembered.

It wasn't actually what had happened to him that made him so apprehensive -- oh, all right, he might as well admit it. Not just apprehensive, but afraid. It wasn't the situations themselves that had made his hearts clench in terror.

It was the malevolence that poured from the Master, the blackness of the void behind that twisted, warped mind. It was the obsessiveness that the Master had with him, the other man's need to somehow own him, to bend the Doctor to his will.

That was never going to happen. The Time Lord had told himself that time and time again, and thus far, he'd always been right. He'd always manged to wriggle out of whatever trap the Master had set for him, even if it that escape had only barely been achieved.

He couldn't repress a shiver, and Ianto held him closer, stroking his hair and murmuring soft words, trying to relax him.

"You know that I wouldn't let anything happen to you, Doctor." Ianto's voice was soft, comforting, but the words were said firmly and decisively. The Doctor knew that the other man meant them; Ianto was always true to his word.

How he wanted to believe what Ianto said, trust that his lover could keep him protected and safe. But if the Master focused on him again, there would be little that Ianto could do. The Doctor wouldn't let him put himself in harm's way.

He shook his head, frowning. Ianto hadn't had to suffer at the Master's hands, and he wanted to make sure that the man he loved came to no harm from that quarter. He'd sacrifice himself, if it came down to that. Anything to keep Ianto safe.

"I hope that you won't have to meet him face-to-face, Ianto. I hope that you won't have to deal with him at all. You've seen the aftermath of what he can be like, and it's not something that I want you to be a part of." The Doctor's voice was firm, his words brooking no argument.

"No, I haven't, but there are times when I'd like to. I want to exact payback for what he's done to you." Ianto's voice was angry, the words coming out through gritted teeth. "He deserves to suffer for all that he's put you through over the centuries."

The Doctor could feel a cold fear clutch at his hearts; whatever happened, he couldn't let Ianto knowingly put himself in the path of danger. Anything but that.

"Don't think like that, Ianto." He tried to keep his voice soft, but he could hear the shakiness there in his words. "It's a war that's been going on between us for longer than you can imagine. And I don't want to drag anyone else into it."

"But I'm already in it, Doctor." Ianto's voice was calm, reasonable. "I'm the man you've chosen to be with. I'm a part of your life -- and, unfortunately, so is he. So you can't keep me out of this, no matter how much you might want to. I'm in it by default."

The Doctor had to concede the truth of Ianto's words, though he really didn't want to. His lover was right; the Master knew of his existence, and his importance to the Doctor. Which meant that his devious mind could easily find a way to put Ianto into the line of fire.

"I know you're right .... but I don't want to think of what that could mean," he sighed, closing his eyes. "His malevolence has colored so many areas of my life, and taken away so many people I've cared for. I won't let him take you away from me, too."

"I don't intend to let that happen, either." Ianto's arms tightened around the Doctor, his breath ruffling the Time Lord's hair. "And I don't intend to let him take you from me again. He's managed to do it once. I won't give him a second chance."

"Let's not think about that." The Doctor shuddered, glad for Ianto's protective embrace. That was an incident that he didn't care to remember, or dwell on in any way.

Ianto nodded, agreeing with him. "It's in the past, Doctor," he said soothingly, reaching to pull the covers more closely around the two of them. "The memories might still come back from time to time -- but you'll never be in that situation again. I promise you that."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," the Doctor cautioned him, wanting desperately to believe what his lover was saying, but knowing that it wasn't possible for Ianto to protect him all the time. "Just say that you hope that kind of thing won't repeat itself."

"All right then -- I hope it won't happen. And I'll do my best to prevent it," Ianto told hm, a fleeting smile moving across his features. He bent his head to brush his lips against the Doctor's mouth, leaning back against the pillows with a sigh.

"Are you tired, love?" Of course he was, the Doctor berated himself. After all, he had been woken up from a sound sleep by someone else's nightmare. And Ianto was human, so he needed more sleep than a Time Lord did.

"Yes, and I'm sure that you are, too," Ianto told him, raising his hand to his mouth to cover a yawn. "We both need to try to get some sleep, Doctor. Whatever your fears, you're safe here. And there's no use worrying about something that might very well not happen."

"I know there isn't," he said softly, turning towards his lover and snuggling into Ianto's arms. "Good night, sweetheart. I'm sorry I woke you."

"It's all right," Ianto said sleepily. "Good night, Doctor." He closed his eyes, and within a few moments he'd drifted off to sleep, his slow, even breathing telling the Time Lord that the young man was resting peacefully.

If only he could do the same, the Doctor thought ruefully, lying next to Ianto and feeling more awake than ever. He'd just have to lie here until he could fall asleep; hopefully, that wouldn't take as long as he was expecting it to.

He could almost feel that darkness that he knew characterized the Master creeping closer; he couldn't put his finger on just why he felt that way, but it was cold chill of fear tracing down his spine that he couldn't seem to shake off.

He wouldn't tell Ianto about it, not yet. It was only a feeling, after all, and one that didn't make much sense, at that. No one needed to know until he was sure of it.

When he finally did succumb to sleep, the nightmare memories continued to swirl through his mind -- and the feeling of malevolence that he knew could only come from the Master drew nearer to both of them, making him shiver even in the throes of his dreams.

***