Title: Let the Day Begin
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: R
Table: 17, substituted for 11
Prompt: 31, Coffee -- substituted for 24, Snowed In
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.

***

"Would you like me to make some coffee?" Ianto asked the Doctor, looking down at the man reclining against his chest with a smile. He raised one hand to stroke the Time Lord's hair back from his face, trailing his fingertips over the other man's soft cheek.

"That would be lovely," the Doctor said, his voice husky. He coughed a bit, clearing his throat. "It's always good to have something to drink when you first wake up, isn't it? My voice always seems to need a bit of liquid to make it work properly in the morning."

"I'm certainly good at making coffee," Ianto told him, a wry tone to his voice. "I spent most of my time with Torchwood doing just that. I don't think I was ever considered as being much more than the teaboy. It seems my talents only lie in that direction."

"That's not true, Ianto," the Doctor said softly, taking one of his lover's hands in his and twining their fingers together. "Jack thought a great deal of your abilities. If he hadn't, then he would never have had you working for Torchwood in the first place."

"It took nearly my entire time with the team for him to actually let me go out on missions," Ianto said, a bitter tone creeping into his voice. "I know that he needed someone to stay at the Hub, but it always seemed to be me. As though I couldn't be trusted to do anything else."

"You know that in most instances, he wanted to keep you safe," the Doctor told him, his voice soft. "He cared for you, Ianto. He still does. Not in the same way, obviously, but he didn't want any harm to come to you. That's why he wanted you to stay there."

Ianto sighed, nodding reluctantly. "I know that, of course," he admitted. "But it's hard to resign myself to just being a background note in the work that Torchwood did. I wanted so much to be a part of it all, but Jack would never quite let me."

"You were by the time you left," the Doctor pointed out. "And they all know that they lost a lot when you decided to leave. But they also gave you the freedom to make that choice, and they didn't try to make you feel guilty about going or persuade you to stay."

"I can't help but wonder if they were relieved to see me go," Ianto mused, then shrugged his shoulders. "Anyway, it doesn't matter now, does it? My time with Torchwood is over, and I wouldn't go back. Not even if I were to somehow end up back on Earth without you."

"You wouldn't?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow in question. "Ianto, that's the place you've always wanted to be. If you weren't with me, are you sure that you wouldn't want to go back? There's still so much that you could do there, so much that you could help with."

Ianto shook his head firmly, the movement decisive. "No. I wouldn't want to go back to Torchwood, not for any reason. It would --" he swallowed hard, the words coming out slowly around the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. "It would remind me too much of you."

The Doctor nodded, unable to speak for a few moments. "You know, you'll always be remembered in Torchwood as much more than just the teaboy, I'm sure," he finally said. "And you know that you're much, much more than that to me."

"I know," Ianto told him, bowing his head to brush his lips across the Doctor's forehead. "That's why I'm here and not there. I know where I belong -- and where I'm wanted and needed most." He smiled down at the man in his arms, all trace of bitterness gone.

"I can appreciate your talents at making coffee as well as I can appreciate .... other things," the Doctor murmured, stretching his lean body out under the covers. "Though I have to admit, I'm more in the mood for a cup of tea this morning."

"Tea is always a good thing to start the day with," Ianto agreed, a hint of laughter in his voice. "I am rather good at being a teaboy, remember?" The bitter tone had changed to one of teasing; he obviously didn't mind being a teaboy for the man he loved.

"Tea can solve a great many problems, you know," the Doctor said, his voice completely serious, though Ianto was sure that the Time Lord was holding back laughter. "A good cup of tea can take care of so much. It works wonders."

"Of course," he agreed, trying not to smile. The Doctor might sound serious, but he was positive that there was a lurking tone of banter under the straight face. "Tea may not be able to cure all ills, but it can at least give you the energy to go about solving things."

"I'm serious, Ianto," the Doctor insisted, leaning his head back against his lover's shoulder. "When I first regenerated into this body, I was having a hard time of it -- and it was a cup of tea that settled my body and put things right. Don't ever underestimate its power."

"Really?" Ianto hadn't heard that story before, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to. He liked hearing about some of the Doctor's past adventures, but the parts where his lover had been hurt or was in any kind of pain made him wince. They definitely didn't appeal to him at all.

"Really," the Doctor told him, heaving a sigh. "It wasn't a time that I like to remember, though I was ecstatic to get this body. Things were so unsettled, and a bit .... well, crazy. It wasn't the best time for me to regenerate. But it all worked out in the end, thankfully."

"If everything hadn't worked out for the best, then you wouldn't be here with me now," Ianto murmured, brushing his lips against his lover's forehead again. He knew that he should get up and get dressed, go into the Tardis' kitchen and make the tea -- but he didn't feel like it.

"I don't want to get out of bed," he laughed, stretching out languorously and yawning. "I'm so perfectly comfortable here with you that I'm going to have a hard convincing myself I should get up and start the day. It's a shame there's no automated tea maker here."

"You're my automated tea maker!" the Doctor told him, laughing. "But I don't feel like getting up either -- even though a cup of tea would be marvelous. I suppose that we should both get up. That way, neither of us will feel like lingering in bed."

"All right," Ianto said, stretching his arms above his head. "But you know, I think it's going to take more than just words to make me get up. I'll need a bit of encouragement. Do you have any to offer?" he asked, tilting his head to the side with a devilish grin.

"Well ...." The Doctor pretended to consider the question, a gleam in his dark eyes. "I could always get out of bed and shake my arse in front of you. But I think that would only encourage you to take me back to bed -- and then we'd never get our tea made."

Ianto couldn't help laughing at those words, nodding in agreement. "Would taking you back to bed be such a bad thing? After all, the tea can wait. We have to take these moments when we can get them, you know." His voice was almost a purr.

"Oh, I definitely agree with that," the Time Lord told him, his voice taking on a breathy quality. To the younger man's surprise, the Doctor didn't sit up and get out of bed -- instead, he moved to straddle Ianto, leaning forward so that their lips were almost touching.

"What is it that flight attendants were supposed to say way back when?" the Time Lord asked, looking down at his young lover with a slight smile curving his lips. "I've forgotten exactly what it was, but I'm sure it was something terribly sexist."

"I think it was 'Coffe, tea, or me?'" Ianto breathed, watching the other man's face intently. He knew just what the Doctor had in mind, and though it surprised him, he certainly wasn't averse to it. It seemed a wonderful way to start the day, at least in his estimation.

"Then I give you that choice," the Doctor murmured, his lips brushing against Ianto's as he spoke. "This could prove to be a lot more interesting than making tea, though. And it'll do a much better job of waking us up. I don't think tea would be nearly as pleasant as morning sex."

"I know exactly what I'd choose," Ianto answered, his own voice feeling as though it was caught in his throat. It was hard to remember just what they'd been talking about before, not with a beautiful naked Time Lord straddling him and obviously wanting to be made love to.

Now this was the way he'd like to let the day begin every morning, Ianto told himself, stroking gentle fingertips down the Doctor's body and dimly hearing his lover's soft moan. If every day was like this, he'd have no need for tea -- or any other traditional way to get his day started.

***