Title: Garden of Eden
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1, 50episodes
Prompt: 30, Writer's Choice - Garden
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.

***

"This place is so beautiful," Ianto sighed as he looked up at the brilliant azure sky above the quiet grove that he and the Doctor were relaxing in. "I'm glad you wanted us to come here for the holidays, Doctor. Even if it feels a bit strange not to have snow."

"I'll be honest, love -- I'm tired of spending Christmases on Earth," the Doctor told him, making a face. "It seems that every time I do, something catastrophic happens. I don't want to deal with that this year. I just want to have some quiet time with you."

"Spending the beginning of a new year here was a wonderful idea," Ianto murmured, slipping an arm around the Time Lord's slim waist and pulling the other man closer against him. "It's nice to be able to relax and not have to think about the troubles of the world."

"That's something we're obligated to think about, Ianto," the Doctor reminded him gently, sliding closer to his lover on the stone bench they were sitting on. "But not at the moment," he added with a smile. "This time is for us to be together and enjoy each other."

"I almost feel as though we're in the garden of Eden, and I just let the viper in by bringing up the fact that we have obligations away from here out in the world," Ianto sighed, shaking his head. "Me and my big mouth. I'm sorry, love."

"Don't be," the Doctor told him, sounding a little brusque. "It's wonderful to have some time to ourselves, where we can relax and take stock of our lives, Ianto. But we both have to realise that we can't spend all of our time doing the things we'd like to do."

"I do realise that," Ianto said soberly, sighing as he looked around him again. "But that doesn't mean that I wouldn't like to spend more time in places like this. I hope we'll be able to come back sometime, Doctor. I have the uneasy feeling that we may need to."

"I have that feeling a lot," the Doctor admitted with his own soft sigh. "There are times when I have terrible forebodings of what may happen in the future, even though I don't let myself look into that time. I've done it before, and I've discovered what I wanted to see there."

"That's probably a good idea," Ianto agreed, nodding. "I wouldn't want to know what our future is going to be like. It might help us to defeat whatever might be coming at us, but it could also make us more careless if we think we'll have an easy time of it."

"Not only that, but neither of us wants to see exactly what's going to happen, because it would take the fun out of getting there!" the Doctor exclaimed, obviously trying to lighten the tone of their conversation. "Who would want to know exactly what's going to happen?"

"There are people who would, I'm sure," Ianto said thoughtfully. "But I'm not one of them. And there are so many different paths you can take whenever you have even a small decision to make. There are a lot of different futures, aren't there?"

The Doctor nodded, his demeanor turning serious again. "Yes, there are -- and every decision that you make influences those futures and solidifies them into one. So even if we were to look into our future now, we could change it with one simple decision in the present."

"I think that now I understand more about how Jack thinks, feeling an obligation to work with Torchwood," Ianto mused, frowning slightly. "He's the only person who really knows about some of what they face. You and I have that same obligation, on a larger scale."

The Time Lord rested his head on Ianto's shoulder, closing his eyes. "Exactly, love. We can't turn our backs on the obligation that we have to the universe. I've been a Time Lord for a long time, and I've gotten used to those responsibilities."

"I'm going to shoulder them right along with you," Ianto murmured, turning his head to brush a gentle kiss across the Doctor's hair. "You're not alone any more, Doctor. And now, you have more than a companion to help you. You have a life partner."

"In a place like this, I can almost forget that there are darker things going on in the rest of the world that we have to concern ourselves with," the Time Lord murmured, his arm tightening slightly around Ianto's waist. "It's so peaceful here. So calm. I wish our lives could be like this."

"I don't think our lives are meant to be peaceful and calm," Ianto said with a wry laugh. "They haven't been up until now -- but we can always count on having these little oases of peace here and there, can't we? I don't see them going away. At least, I hope they won't."

"I've always had them in the past, so no, I don't see them disappearing." The Doctor raised his head from his lover's shoulder, turning to Ianto with a gentle smile curving his lips. "And there's one quiet, peaceful oasis that I carry with me no matter where I go."

"What is that?" Ianto questioned, looking curious. "Is there a garden somewhere on the Tardis that you haven't told me about yet?" He wouldn't have been surprised to get an affirmative answer; the wonders of the Tardis constantly impressed him.

The Doctor shook his head, smiling as he spoke. "No, Ianto," he said softly, raising a hand to stroke his lover's cheek. "You're my oasis. No matter where we go, no matter how much trouble we might be in, I can always count on you to be the steady peacefulness in my life."

Ianto's eyes filled with tears at the Doctor's words; he had to blink rapidly to keep them from falling, and it was a few minutes before he could trust his voice to speak aloud. "And you're mine," he whispered, his words still a little wobbly.

"All I have to do is look at you, and I feel calm and peaceful," the Doctor murmured, his voice soft and husky, his emotions written in that dark gaze riveted on Ianto's face. "You're part of me, Ianto, my hearts and soul. You're the best part of me."

"I think you and I bring out the best parts of each other," Ianto said softly, turning slightly to take the Time Lord's face in his hands, gazing into his lover's eyes. "And we always will be, Doctor. You and I were meant to be together. You've always been my destiny."

"I don't need to be here to feel that I'm in the garden of Eden," the Doctor whispered, his dark gaze never leaving Ianto's face. "All I need is to be with you, and I'm in paradise. You're my garden of Eden, Ianto. Just being with you makes any place wonderful for me."

Ianto couldn't say anything; he was afraid that if he did, his throat would either close and choke off the words, or he would burst into tears. All he could do was take the Doctor into his arms, pulling the other man close and holding him tightly.

All he wanted to do was sit here in this peaceful garden, holding the Doctor close to him, knowing that the two of them were safe and that they were together. But he knew that was impossible; as the Doctor said, they had obligations that they couldn't turn away from.

Their lives might be easier -- and certainly more peaceful -- if they didn't have those responsibilities, but Ianto agreed with the Doctor that they couldn't simply walk away. Too much depended on them; they were all that could stand between an unsuspecting universe and its enemies.

That made them sound as though they were some kind of superheroes -- which they most definitely were not, Ianto thought wryly. But they were the protectors of the universe, in a way -- and they both took that responsibility very seriously.

Still, at least they had time now and then to be in a veritable garden of Eden. And he intended to make the most of that time -- starting now, he thought, as he leaned closer to the Doctor and brushed a gentle kiss against the Time Lord's parted lips.

Their surroundings seemed to slip away, the two of them feeling as though they inhabited their own private world, a veritable garden of delights where no intruder could find them. And as Ianto deepened the kiss, he hoped that they wouldn't have to leave that garden for a very long time.

***