Title: Selective Hearing
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 5
Prompt: 2, Deaf
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.

***


"So how did Jack react when you told him that you were leaving Torchwood for good?" the Doctor asked, his tone curious. "It's not something we've really talked about, and I've been wanting to know just what he said and how he took the announcement."

Ianto's lips quirked in a smile, and he shook his head. "At first, he thought I was joking. He didn't want to believe that anyone would choose to leave Torchwood -- even though it was him who gave me the idea that it would be best for me to leave permanently."

The Doctor nodded, smiling a little himself. "Yes, it's like Jack to think that Torchwood is irresistible to everyone," he murmured, knowing that wasn't the only thing Jack considered irresistble. "He'd have a hard time letting you go, I'm sure."

His young lover glanced over at him, moving over on the couch to slide an arm around the Time Lord's waist and pull him closer.

"You know how Jack is," Ianto said, trying to choose his words carefully. "He's selectively deaf when anyone is telling him something he doesn't want to hear -- especially where it concerns himself. I think he took it personally that I wanted to leave."

"Yes, that would be just like him." The Doctor wasn't sure if he felt amused -- or angry. "Jack thinks that anyone who doesn't want to be a part of Torchwood is rejecting him somehow. He's more than likely seeing this as you rejecting him as a lover."

Ianto shrugged and scowled, shaking his head. "It doesn't matter if that's how he sees it," he said, his voice not betray his own annoyance at his former boss -- and lover. "He was the one who ended our relationship originally, not me."

"He has no-one to blame but himself if he wants you back." The Doctor sighed softly, leaning his head against Ianto's shoulder. "I know that you wouldn't go back to him even if he wanted that -- but it still bothers me that he seems to take that attitude."

"What attitude? That he could get me back if he decided he wanted me?" Ianto smiled, raising a hand to run his fingers through the silken softness of the Time Lord's hair. "Doctor, that would never happen. Jack may think he's irresistible, but he holds no interest whatsoever for me any more."

"It's a bit sad that he thinks either of us would come back to him," the Doctor murmured, reassured by Ianto's words. "He really needs to deflate that ego."

"Oh, I think he knows that he could never get either of us back now that we have each other," Ianto mused, leaning his head back against the cushions of the couch. "He just doesn't want to admit that to himself, so he pretends that he could."

"Jack is one of the most realistic men I've ever met -- except when it comes to his own powers of attraction," the Doctor chuckled, shaking his head again. "And you're right about him being selectively deaf. He never hears anything about himself that isn't complimentary."

"At least when it comes to sexual things," Ianto agreed, laughing along with the Time Lord. "It's funny how he's convinced that he's the only man who has such a strong sexual attraction for people. But that attitude in itself is off-putting."

"I couldn't agree more," the Doctor told him, snuggling into Ianto's arms. "I'll tell you something I've never said to anyone before. When I was with Jack, it was like being three in a bed -- me, him, and his ego. And there wasn't much room there for me."

Ianto burst into laughter, nodding in agreement. "You've hit the nail right on the head, Doctor!" he told his lover, still smiling as he spoke. "Jack is in love with himself. He can't have room in his love affair with his ego to fall in love with another person."

"It's not that I don't think he's capable of caring for anyone," the Doctor said quickly, hoping that he hadn't made Jack sound too heartless. "Of course he cares for people."

"I know that," Ianto said, heaving a sigh. "He just doesn't fall in love with them, despite his protests to the contrary. Jack's idea of 'love' is to have a sexual relationship that doesn't last very long, and then go on to the next person."

"While leaving the door open to come back for a casual fling here and there with anyone he might have left behind and takes an interest in again," the Doctor finished, not realizing that his tone had turned sour. Ianto looked over at him with raised brows.

"So you felt that way too, hmmm?" Ianto couldn't help wondering if Jack had ever approached the Time Lord about renewing their relationship, just for a night or two, and then quickly pushed the thought away. He didn't need to know if that had happened.

And he knew that it wouldn't happen, not while the Doctor had been with him. If there was one thing he knew about his lover, and was absolutely sure of, it was that the Doctor was completely loyal to the person he loved. He would never be sexually involved with anyone else.

Not even a lover from the past, a lover he'd cared about a great deal. Besides, Jack wasn't his soul mate -- Ianto was. There was no contest between the two.

And as for himself and Jack, their relationship had been over for quite a while. At first, he'd been hurt, and he'd wondered what he could have done to make Jack turn away from him. But after a while, he'd realized that his faults weren't the issue.

No, the fault had laid with Jack, and his inability to commit to a monogamous relationship. That was his loss, Ianto thought, pulling the Time Lord closer to him. He almost felt sorry for Jack; the immortal would never know the happiness that came with this kind of love.

He would always be searching for a kind of love and acceptance that he'd never find -- because he would never give his heart to anyone completely. Until he learned to do that, he would always wander from lover to lover, without ever finding one who would want to be a permanent part of his life.

Ianto couldn't help wondering if Jack might be lonely, but he dismissed the thought from his mind. It wasn't possible. Jack would take that loneliness and push it away, drown it in a new body and a new face for a while, before he tired of them and moved on to the next one.

Living like that wasn't what Ianto had ever wanted -- which was why his relationship with Jack had been doomed to failure from the beginning. He was monogamous; he wanted a committed relationship with the person he loved, not just a convenience.

That was what the Doctor wanted, too. And they both had to be grateful that in a way, Jack had been the one to bring them together.

Another small smile curved his lips at the thought; yes, Jack might be selectively deaf when it came to hearing about himself as being less than perfect in his romantic encounters, but he could listen loud and clear when it came to knowing that two people were right for each other.

He'd listened to his instincts about Ianto and the Doctor when the two of them had met, and he'd been the one to tell Ianto that he needed to be with the Time Lord permanently. So .... maybe he listened a lot more than the two of them were giving him credit for.

Ianto tilted the Doctor's face up to his, bending his head to press his lips against his lover's mouth. He could hear a pronounced sound ringing in his ears: the rising tide of desire that was rushing over them both, drowning out every other sound except the beating of their hearts.

***