Title: Directly From the Heart
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG
Table: 3, letter100
Prompt: 95, Jewellery
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own Ianto Jones or the Tenth Doctor. Please do not sue.

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My dearest Ianto,

I've been thinking of you so much lately, and of how grateful I am to have you here with me. My life has been so much better since you've been here on the Tardis on a permanent basis that I can't imagine why it was that I didn't want you to be here before.

Well, that's not entirely true. I still worry about your safety. that was my main hesitation about letting you come with me before, and there are times when it still bothers me that I'm not able to be completely assured that you'll be protected.

But I've long since accepted that you're right about us needing to be together. You and I are a team, one that's always going to be better when we're by each other's sides. We should never be split apart by distance again.

Of course, you and I can never actually be "split." Our bond is far too strong for that; after all that we've been through, and all that we'll more than likely face in the future, I can't see us ever pulling apart again. Once was more than enough.

The pendants we share are proof of that. I'm sure that you've noticed the soft glow that seems to come from them all the time -- that's because all is well in the hearts of both people who wear them and are connected through the jewellery.

Those pendants are only meant to be given to someone who owns your heart. Or in my case, both of my hearts. They're meant for a soul mate, someone who you know will be with you forever, through this life and any other.

I never came close to giving that pendant to anyone -- not even to Jack. I know you've wondered at times if I'd ever intended it for him -- but the answer is a firm an unequivocal no. There was never anyone in my life before you who was worthy of that gift.

It's not only a necklace, as you well know. It's a sort of key to my hearts; it's a way of telling you that you will always be in my life, and that you'll always be a part of my soul. It's a way of showing you how much I love you without words.

Maybe there are some people who think that jewellery isn't a gift that men should give to each other, that it's more of a feminine thing -- but I beg to differ. That pendant suits you, my love. It looks good on you, as though you were meant to wear it.

That pendant isn't just a declaration of my love for you, either. It's a way for us to stay connected if we happen to be taken away from each other in the physical sense. I'll know if you need me, and vice versa. You've already seen proof of that.

What would I have done if you and Owen and Jack hadn't come to my rescue? I'd probably still be a captive of the Master -- or I could easily be dead, or regenerated into another body. None of those things are particularly palatable.

Actually, when I think about it -- for me, those are fates worse than death. I don't want to change into a new body. Not while I'm with you. This one is far too precious to me -- and to you. I want to keep it for as long as I possibly can.

It's strange how much of my hearts and soul seem to be captured in the refracted light of that pendant, how much it seems to thrive on our emotions. I can feel your love for me coursing through the one I wear, too. It's not only you who can sense that emotion.

I've felt your love through the pendant ever since you first put it on. I never had any doubts that you were the person I wanted to have it, but I wondered if I would feel you strongly from the first moment it touched your skin.

I'd been told that I would, but I didn't expect the sensation to be so overpowering. I couldn't speak for a few moments after you slipped the necklace over your head and the stone settled against your heart -- it was as though your heart was speaking directly to mine.

Those emotions that you can feel through the pendant -- they come directly from my hearts. And I can feel your emotions just as directly. I don't know exactly how it works; I'm only glad that it does. And that I finally found the person who was meant to have it.

I've kept that pendant for so long, often taking it out and looking at it, wondering if I would ever find my soul mate and allow myself to feel complete. I've never been a big believer in fate, but that might be a part of how the pendants find their proper homes.

When the three of you came to rescue me -- that wasn't just providence, it was fate tying our hearts together. I had to believe in it then. You were led to me by that pendant, Ianto. I can't express in words how grateful I am for that connection between us.

I shouldn't keep going back to that. It's in the past, and we got through it. There's no need for me to keep thinking of it, though the experience still haunts my dreams sometimes. But with time, those nightmares are finally starting to fade.

Giving you that pendant was one of the best things I've ever done. I'm sure that you've wondered here and there if I regretted it, if I felt that I hadn't given it to the right person. I wouldn't blame you for having those thoughts, love. To doubt it a very human trait.

Even I have doubts about some things in my life at times. But you? I've never had a single doubt in my mind that I belong with you. Even when I was foolish enough to leave you, I always knew in my hearts that I'd made a mistake and that I needed to be with you again.

There has never been a single doubt in my mind that the pendant belonged with you. It seemed to reach out for you even before it was yours. I always knew that one day, I would find my soul mate, and that piece of jewellery would find its rightful owner.

You not only own that pendant, Ianto, but my hearts that go with it. And that's a gift that I don't ever want to be returned. They all belong to you, beloved, and they're right where they belong.

Always your loving

Doctor

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