Title: Good Time
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 4, 50episodes
Prompt: 7, Bouncy
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 moved down the corridor that led from the bedroom he shared with the Doctor into the control room, a smile on his face. He was feeling better today than he had since their ordeal had started; maybe he was finally getting used to their changed circumstances.

The Doctor seemed to be feeling in high spirits, too. He'd noticed that yesterday; the Time Lord had smiled more than he usually did these days, and he seemed more relaxed, more expansive. Ianto was relieved that he hadn't sunk into a kind of melancholy.

Why did they have any reason for sadness, anyway? he asked himself. He was immortal now. And the Doctor wouldn't regenerate outwardly, only inside; he would keep the body that they both loved and didn't want him to lose. It was a good situation for both of them.

But of course, neither of them could rid themselves of the notion that this might be part of a bigger plan that the Master had, even though that did seem a bit far-fetched. Still, it was something to bear in mind, and they'd have to keep being cautious.

Caution had always been a byword for them, though; it was something that they were used to. And they didn't really have to be any more cautious than usual, considering that they were always careful. Well, at least, most of the time.

He'd managed to curb the Doctor's propensity for jumping head first into situations that might prove to be dangerous, Ianto told himself with a smile. That was a good thing. He wanted to be sure that his lover was around for a very long time to come.

As he emerged from the corridor into the control room, his gaze went immediately to the Doctor, bent over the console and studying it as though he was trying to decide where they would go next. That was more than likely exactly what he was doing, Ianto told himself.

He moved behind the other man, sliding his arms around the Time Lord's waist and peering at the console himself. "So, where are we headed to?" he asked softly, his gaze moving from the control panel to the Doctor's face as the other man turned his head.

"I hadn't really decided yet," the Doctor told him with a soft laugh. "And good morning to you, too!" he added in a slightly admonishing tone. "I'd thought that we could both decide which place to visit next. It's more fun when we both want to go to a particular time and place."

Ianto nodded, the Doctor's infectious joy seeping into him. It was so good to see his lover like this; his bouncy insouciance had returned, and he seemed like the man that Ianto had first met, happy and carefree, without worries weighing him down.

Not that the Doctor had always been carefree, Ianto reminded himself. Even when they'd first met, he had still dealt with problems and worries -- but none that had reached the magnitude of what the Master had put the two of them through so recently.

He didn't want to think about that terrible time when the two of them had decided it was best to go their separate ways, and the Doctor had given himself to the Master as some sort of act of repentance. That was the darkest time of both their lives, one that he wanted to lock away.

That was the past, Ianto reminded himself, pushing the memory away. No need to think about it now; it wasn't anything that they ever had to let into their minds again. They could bury it, lock it away and never let the memory resurface.

The Doctor turned to him, sliding one arm around Ianto's waist. "Is there any particular place and time you'd like to go to, my love?" he asked softly, his dark eyes fixed on Ianto's face. "We can go anywhere, you know. Any place or time you'd like. As long as it's a safe one."

"Is there any place that's truly safe?" Ianto asked with a laugh. "We've been to places before and times before that we thought were going to be perfectly safe -- and they ended up getting into a lot more trouble than we could have thought of!"

The Doctor joined in his laughter, shaking his head. "All right, I'll agree with that," he said, moving out of his lover's embrace and turning to the console again. "But that doesn't change the fact that we need to choose a place to go. Somewhere that sounds like fun!"

"So it's fun you want, is it?" Ianto asked, slipping an arm around the Time Lord's waist again as the two of them leaned over the console. "Well, what about Venice at Carnivale? That would be a good time. Or we could go to .... I don't know. A Beatles concert in Liverpool?"

"That would be like taking our lives into our own hands!" the Doctor told him, his dark eyes widening as he glanced at his lover. "Do you know how crazy those fans could get? We'd be better off seeing them at the Cavern Club in Germany. Before they were famous, you know."

"Oh, that would be amazing!" Ianto exclaimed, his smile growing. "I was born too late for the Beatles, you know. I used to wish that I'd been around to see the Fab Four in action. My mother loved their music, and I grew up listening to them."

"Then we should go there!" the Doctor told him, programming the coordinates into the ship. "I think we should be able to make it there with no problems -- it's a place that I've been before, so the Tardis knows her way there without making any detours."

"What other places could she find without taking any extra time?" Ianto asked, pulling the Doctor into his embrace and nibbling at the Time Lord's earlobe. "Paris? Sydney? Rome? Some other beautiful, romantic place where I could spend time alone with you?"

"Oh, there are plenty of places and times," the Doctor told him, his voice thick and husky with desire. "I just thought .... that doing something like seeing the Beatles would be fun. Though if you'd prefer some place more along romantic lines ...."

Ianto shook his head, moving a hand down the Doctor's back and over the slight swell of his hip to let it rest on the Time Lord's ass. "Romantic would be good, but I think seeing the Beatles play before they were famous would be lovely. How many people can say they've seen that?"

"Quite a few .... actually," the Doctor told him, the last word gasped out. The Time Lord's eyes closed, his head falling back as Ianto's lips trailed fire down his throat, pressing a gentle kiss against the hollow at the base of his throat.

"Well, I'll be the only person of my generation who can say that they were there!" Ianto answered, a smile growing as he moved his hands back up the Doctor's body to rest of his lover's shoulders. "It's good to see you like this again, love," he whispered.

"It's good to feel like this again," the Doctor told him, returning Ianto's smile. "I feel as though a weight has been lifted off me. I don't really know how to describe it, Ianto. I feel .... freer. As if I can finally breathe completely, without any restrictions."

"I love seeing you so bouncy and happy again," Ianto said, pressing a gentle kiss to the Doctor's cheek. "I'd been so worried about you, sweetheart. Not only because of what the Master was doing to you with those dreams, but worried that you were losing part of your spirit."

"That was probably part of what he wanted," the Doctor murmured, raising a hand to place it on Ianto's cheek. "To break me. But he didn't do it, Ianto. I'm still the same person. I've been through an ordeal, but I still have my spirit intact. And I'll prove that to you."

"All you have to do is keep being as bouncy as you've been today, and you'll prove it well enough," Ianto laughed, nuzzling his cheek against the Doctor's. "And now, what was it you said about taking me to see the Beatles at the Cavern Club? Let's go have a good time."

"That's going to be quite an experience for you!" the Doctor told him, laughing as he turned back to the console. "Well, let's head to the club, then! Allons-y!" He was almost bouncing up and down as he said the words -- and to his surprise, Ianto found himself doing the same thing.

***