Title: Desperately Wanting
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: R
Table: 2, 10_hurt_comfort
Prompt: 8, Yearning
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.

***

Ianto drummed his fingers on the arm of the couch, sighing and trying not to focus on the worry that nagged at the back of his mind. The Doctor was all right. He only needed to rest. He'd told Ianto that several times, in a very firm voice.

But Ianto couldn't help being worried. The Doctor had taken a mental and physical beating on the last planet they'd been to before he'd been able to rescue the Time Lord and get him back to the Tardis; he'd been appalled at the way his lover had been treated.

The Doctor, of course, seemed to take it all in stride. He'd told Ianto that worse had happened to him before, that this was all part of being who and what he was, and that it was something he lived with. He was used to it.

That was hard to believe, but Ianto had no choice but to take the Time Lord's word for it. He hadn't been there in the past; he didn't know what the Doctor had been through before the time that he'd been with the other man.

He was trying to give the Doctor time to rest and recuperate from his experience on that planet, to sleep and let his body heal. He appeared to be doing that, but it was getting harder for Ianto to stay away from him.

Ianto couldn't help being a little annoyed at himself for that. For goodness' sake, couldn't he even let the Doctor sleep without being around him?

That was ridiculous, he told himself sternly. He was getting far too overprotective of the Time Lord; the Doctor had certainly proven time and time again that he could take care of himself. But that didn't stop Ianto from wanting to take care of his lover as best he could.

All he wanted to do at the moment was to go into the bedroom of his flat, sit there and watch the Doctor sleep. That was all. He wasn't going to do anything else, he promised himself; he wouldn't bother the other man. He would just watch. Nothing else.

He got to his feet, making his way silently down the hallway to his bedroom and standing there in the doorway. He almost didn't want to move into the room, but there was something about the man sleeping in his bed that drew him forward.

It was so hard for him to stay away from the Doctor. There was an aura about the Time Lord that kept Ianto at his side, almost as though by magic.

Ianto had to smile ruefully as the thought crossed his mind. Magic? No, that was silly. It was his love for the other man that drew him to the Time Lord's side; a love that he knew was returned just as freely as it was given.

What would he do if he ever lost the Doctor? He could feel an icy fear clutch at his heart, an involuntary shudder shaking his body. That wasn't something he wanted to contemplate; it would be all too easy for that to happen.

It had already come close to happening too many times since they'd found each other, but the Doctor always seemed to be able to come through any conflict. Ianto wanted to put those narrow escapes down to luck, but he was sure it was more than that.

Tiptoeing into the room, he sat down quietly in the chair by the side of the bed, never taking his eyes from the Time Lord's face. He could drink in those features all day, he told himself, a smile curving his lips. He'd never get tired of looking at the man he loved.

Had he been like this from the first time he'd met the Doctor? Ianto couldn't really remember, but he was positive that he had. He couldn't imagine feeling any other way about this man, even when they hadn't really known each other.

He'd wanted the Doctor from the first time he'd seen that face. And his yearning for the other man had only grown stronger with each passing day.

That was strange, in a way; he'd never been so besotted with anyone before, not even his crushes when he was younger. Not even Lisa -- or Jack. His feelings for the Doctor were stronger than anything he'd ever known, or thought that he could feel.

The Time Lord insisted that this had been fated, meant to be; that the two of them were soul mates. Ianto had never really believed in that sort of thing, but now .... he couldn't help thinking that there was some merit in what the Doctor said.

What other explanation was there for how much he wanted this man, how he felt soothed and calmed just by thinking of him? No one else had ever made him feel that they were all he needed for him to find complete happiness.

Oh, he'd thought that he'd been in love before. Maybe he had. But the love he had for the Doctor was far and beyond anything he could possibly have felt for anyone else; it wasn't just an emotion, it was part of the fiber of his being, deeper and stronger than anything else in his life.

Ianto steepled his fingers under his chin, watching the sleeping Time Lord. It was so hard to keep himself from getting up and pulling back the covers, getting into bed beside the other man and taking that slender body into his arms, kissing the Doctor until he awakened ....

But no, he wasn't going to do that. The Doctor needed to rest. And the best thing that Ianto could do for him was to let him recuperate at his own pace.

Of course, that pace would be quick; the Doctor always recovered quickly from whatever might happen to him. He'd explained to Ianto that his Time Lord body could heal much more quickly than a human's, but that he certainly wasn't impervious to harm.

The best thing that he could do for the man he loved was to keep watch over him, to be here if the Doctor happened to need him. Ianto didn't think he would; the other man appeared to be sleeping peacefully, letting the healing power of rest do its work.

He was going to stay right here, in this room, by the Doctor's side. Though it was hard to just sit here and watch this man sleep; the thoughts that kept pushing themselves to the forefront of his mind shouldn't be in his mind when his lover wasn't in the best condition.

Ianto sighed again, consciously holding himself back from sitting down on the bed and leaning over the Doctor to press a kiss against those tempting lips. Could it hurt to do that? Would it awaken the Doctor? Maybe it was best to just sit here ....

He was surprised when the Time Lord opened his eyes, smiling at him and raising one thin hand. Ianto leaned forward, taking the other man's hand in his own and returning the smile, feeling as though his heart was expanding from that single gesture.

"What are you doing sitting over there, when there's plenty of room in this bed for the both of us?" the Doctor said softly, moving over to make room for Ianto in the bed beside him and pushing back the covers invitingly.

"I thought you'd never ask," the young man whispered, moving to the bed and sliding underneath the blankets beside the slender man, taking the Doctor into his arms.

The Time Lord sighed contentedly, snuggling into his young lover's arms and closing his eyes. "I haven't been asleep all this time, you know," he said, sounding reproachful. "I've been waiting for you to come in here and get into bed with me."

"I didn't do it because I thought I'd disturb you," Ianto admitted, feeling a little sheepish at his own words. "I .... I want you so much that I didn't think I'd be able to keep my hands to myself if I was here. And I know you need to rest."

The Doctor looked up at him, his dark eyes sparkling, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I don't need to rest that much," he told Ianto, sounding mischievous. "In fact, I think it would be a big aid in my recovery if you .... helped it along a bit."

"Hmmm, I don't think I'd have a problem doing that," Ianto said, laughing and pulling the Doctor closer against his body. "In fact, I think I have several good ideas on just how to help you recover as quickly as possible."

"I think you should show me all of them," the Doctor murmured, wrapping his arms around Ianto's neck as his lover's lips came down on his. A few moments later, the two of them were lost in their own world -- and Ianto was sure that he could help the Doctor to recovery very, very soon.

***