Title: Enigma
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Ianto Jones
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Rating: PG-13
Table: slash_me_twice
Prompt: 86, Sphinx
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the Tenth Doctor or Ianto Jones, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Ianto glanced over at where the Doctor was sitting, chin propped in one hand, obviously deep in thought. He didn't want to bother his lover; he had seen the Doctor like this on many occasions, and he might as well have been a million miles away rather than here on the Tardis.

He had never known anyone who could be as much of an enigma as the Doctor was, Ianto thought to himself. Even Jack had been more transparent much of the time than this man was; the Doctor could hide aspects of himself all too well when he chose to do so.

Of course, he knew the Doctor better than most people ever would, Ianto mused, not taking his eyes off the other man. The Time Lord wasn't as much of an enigma to him as he was to others, but Ianto was sure that he was far from completely understanding the man he loved.

That wasn't unusual, though, was it? After all, the Doctor wasn't human; he was an alien who had been raised in a far different culture from the one that Ianto was used to. He couldn't expect the Time Lord to always behave in the way that human beings did.

He knew the Doctor better than anyone did; he was sure that he had been allowed to see more of what was in the Time Lord's hearts than anyone else ever had. After all, he was the only person who the Doctor had ever bonded with, the only one he'd given his hearts to.

But still, there were parts of the Doctor's soul that Ianto knew he had never seen into, aspects of his lover's character that were still an enigma to him. He didn't mind that; everyone needed to have their own private spaces within themselves.

Even though they had bonded, he wasn't so foolish as to believe that he knew the Doctor inside and out. Maybe there were some things about the Time Lord that he would never understand, things that the man he loved would never open up and let him see.

But even if some things about his lover remained an enigma to him, that was all right, Ianto told himself with a smile. He didn't need to know every little thing about the Doctor. He was content with only viewing those sides of the other man that the Doctor was comfortable with him seeing.

Were there things about him that the Doctor didn't understand? Ianto's eyes widened in surprise as he considered that question; it wasn't something that he'd thought about before, not in all of the time that he had known the Doctor. It was an interesting question.

He had never thought of himself as a particularly secretive man -- at least not since he'd been involved with the Time Lord. When he had been with Jack, there had been so much of his life that he'd had to keep behind closed doors, so many things that he couldn't be open about.

But now, he had none of those restrictions in his life. It was amazing how much happier he had become since he had finally been able to make a life with the Doctor, rather than feeling that he had to stay with Torchwood and wait for his lover to come to him.

Had the Doctor ever felt that way -- as though he had to keep secrets even from people who were close to him? He didn't doubt that it was so -- the Time Lord was, after all, a man for whom being secretive about who and what he was had become a way of life, in some ways.

But he knew that his lover had no secrets from him. Ianto was sure that if he asked, the Doctor would tell him anything he wanted to know, just as he would tell the Time Lord anything. There were no barriers between the two of them, no secrets that they would ever keep from each other.

He watched as the Doctor frowned shifted his position slightly, his chin resting even more firmly in his hands as he leaned against the console. To him, the Time Lord resembled nothing so much as a sphinx, quiet and enigmatic, holding far too many secrets within himself.

"Doctor?" Ianto couldn't keep himself from speaking to the other man. "Is something bothering you? I've never seen you look so enigmatic before. If there's some problem you're thinking about that I might be able to help with, let me know. You know I'll do whatever I can."

The Time Lord looked up, startled, his concentration obviously broken. But he didn't look angry that Ianto had pulled him away from whatever he was thinking; a slow smile spread over his face as he dusted his hands on his jacket and held them out to his lover.

Ianto let the Doctor pull him into his arms, enjoying the feeling of their embrace. Somehow, the Doctor could always manage to make him feel safe and secure, no matter what situation they might be in, or how threatened he might be feeling by outside influences.

"Nothing's bothering me, Ianto," the Time Lord said, his voice soft in Ianto's ear. "I was just wondering how long it's going to be until w meet the Master face to face again -- and how we're going to have to be prepared for anything when we do."

"Ah, that's a bothersome subject if I ever heard one," Ianto told him, unable to suppress his own frown. "If we meet him again any time soon, I'm going to have a hard time holding myself back from trying to kill him. I wanted to do that the last time we tangled with him."

"No, you don't, Ianto." The Doctor's voice was very calm and quiet. "If you did that, then you would be no better than he is. I won't have you becoming like him. You're better than that, love, and you know it. The last thing either of us want is him rubbing off on you."

"Sometimes I wonder if I am," Ianto said in a low voice. "I'm not the kind of man who likes to feel that he hates anyone, Doctor. But I hate him. I hate him for what he's done to both of us -- but mainly to you. And I want to see him dead for that."

"I don't blame you, love," the Doctor said softly, his dark gaze never leaving Ianto's face. "Anyone would feel that way. But I try not to. There's probably a deeply buried part of me that hates him -- but I can also feel pity for him. Because I knew him before he became what he is."

"Was he as much of an enigma as you are, or did that grow on you over time?" Ianto inquired, hoping that the Doctor wouldn't think he was trying to pry too deeply. "If you'd rather not discuss that, it's all right. But I do find you hard to understand sometimes."

The Doctor laughed softly, shaking his head and giving Ianto a wry smile. "That's understandable, love. I'm not human, and there are a lot of things about me that you may never understand. But you'll still love me anyway, won't you, even if you never fully understand me?"

"Of course I will," Ianto told him, feeling a little choked with emotions that suddenly welled up within him. "I'll love you for eternity, Doctor -- and beyond. Nothing's ever going to change that -- and it doesn't matter that you aren't human. You're still the only man for me."

"And you for me, my love," the Doctor murmured, his voice so soft and seductive that Ianto was sure he would melt into a puddle right there on the floor within seconds if the Time Lord spoke to him like that again. "I could never be with anyone else."

"Neither could I," Ianto murmured, blinking rapidly to force back the tears that had risen unbidden behind his eyelids. "I quite like the fact that you're an enigma to me sometimes. It makes you intriguing in a way that no one else could ever be for me."

"You're an enigma to me at times, too," the Doctor told him with a soft laugh. "But then, all humans are like that to me. Even though I know you well, Ianto, I think there's a lot under the surface that I still need to discover. And I'm looking forward to every moment of doing that."

"You and I will have a very long time to discover things that we don't know about each other," Ianto told him, smiling. "I'll be able to wonder what you're thinking in those moments when you resemble a sphinx, and you can do the same with me. Life will always be interesting."

"It certainly will," the Doctor murmured as he closed his eyes and leaned in closer for a kiss. When their lips met, any questions that Ianto had about whatever secrets that his lover might be keeping didn't seem to matter. Kissing the Doctor seemed like the most important thing he had to think about.

***