Title: A Promise Made
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 11
Prompt: 29, Promise
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 yawned as he set his coffee cup down on the table by the couch, reaching for the television remote as he did so. The movie he and the Doctor had been watching was at an end, the credits rolling, and the Doctor was curled up on the couch next to him, his head a reassuring weight on Ianto's shoulder.

He'd never dared to think that a relationship could be like this. He and Lisa had spent most of their time going out; she'd always wanted to rush around and do things. And Jack .... well, he and Jack had been involved more out of proximity than anything else. In the long run, their relationship had been ephemeral and not meant to last, even though Ianto was thankful to the immortal for getting him through a difficult period of his life.

But his relationship with the Doctor was something out of a dream. That is, if one's dreams involved being able to curl up quietly with a lover, just to be able to enjoy their presence. To spend time at home with them, making love in the dark of night, coexisting beside them in the daylight hours, sharing everything of one's life with a significant other.

His other arm was around the Doctor's slender waist, holding the other man next to him. He looked down fondly at the Time Lord, bending his head to press a gentle kiss to the Doctor's tawny hair. He was nearly asleep, his breathing slow and steady, his body relaxed against Ianto's. Had he been like that for long? Ianto couldn't help wondering.

As if in answer to his unspoken question, the Doctor stirred, opening his eyes and craning his neck to look up at his young lover. "I'm not asleep," he protested, shaking his head. "Just a little tired, that's all."

Ianto had to resist the urge to frown; after the last experience the Doctor had been through when he'd left for a few days, he'd seemed to be terribly tired all the time lately. Ianto still didn't know just what he'd seen that had shaken him so badly, but he wasn't going to try to pry the information from the Time Lord. The Doctor would tell him when he was ready -- if he was ready.

"I'll tell you sometime, my sweet," the Doctor murmured drowsily, his words making Ianto's eyes widen. How in the hell had the Gallifreyan known what he was thinking?

"It happens when I'm tired," the Doctor murmured, again answering his question before he could put it into words. "I just seem to be able to .... reach out and brush up against random thoughts without even trying. And you, my love -- it's very easy to read you. Perhaps because of our emotional and physical bond. I can't do it so easily with anyone else."

"It's a bit disconcerting," Ianto whispered, pressing another soft kiss to the Doctor's forehead, his hand stroking up and down the soft skin of the Time Lord's bare arm. "But I don't really mind. My thoughts are an open book to you, beloved."

"You can do it too, you know," the Doctor added, almost as an afterthought. "With me, that is. Our bond is so strong, so developed, that you shouldn't have a hard time reaching into my mind and seeing whatever you choose to see."

Ianto was more than a little startled by this revelation; he'd never even thought that he'd be able to read the Time Lord's thoughts. He wasn't sure that he wanted to -- the possibility of coming up against thoughts or memories that he'd rather not be able to access wasn't something he wanted to think about. Still, it would be interesting to have the experience ....

"Go ahead," the Doctor whispered, shifting his position so that he slid down onto the couch, his head resting in Ianto's lap, his dark gaze fixed on his lover's face. "Put your hands here, like this ...." He placed Ianto's hands on either side of his head, splaying his fingers out and holding them there lightly.

It felt strange to have access to someone else's mind, as though he was walking through an uninhabited house, and the owner could return at any moment and demand why he was there. But it didn't feel uncomfortable -- at least, the Doctor's mind didn't. Of course, he was being given free access to these thoughts, allowed to roam in the Time Lord's mind. He doubted that it would be like this with any other person.

Ianto had expected to be assailed by memories, thoughts, a myriad of feelings that couldn't be controlled. Instead, the Doctor's mind seemed to be neat and orderly, arranged and compartmentalized. It was surprising, not at all like the man he knew.

But there was one corner of his mind that didn't feel so organized; it only took Ianto a few moments to realize that he was seeing into the part of the Doctor's mind that held his emotions for Ianto, the only feelings that he allowed himself to express freely and clearly, no holding back, no holds barred.

He felt enveloped in a warm wave of emotion, all the love that the Doctor felt for him surrounding him like a warm blanket, keeping him safe and protected.

Ianto closed his eyes, blinking back the tears that had risen unbidden behind his eyelids. He'd never felt so loved, so needed, so wanted.

"You are loved, my sweet," the Doctor said softly, his eyes still on Ianto's face. "You should certainly know that by now. More than I've ever loved anyone -- in all my lives."

"I'm sorry," Ianto whispered, dashing the back of his hand across his watery eyes. "I'm just .... not quite used to being loved like that, you know. My family was never very good at expressing the fact that they loved me. Neither was Lisa. And Jack .... well, you know that he never seems to let anyone really touch his emotions if he can help it."

"You deserved more than that from him," the Doctor said, sounding disapproving. "I'll have to have a talk with him about that. I expect he'll get a good scolding."

"I suppose I just worry that things will change," Ianto whispered, his gaze never leaving the Doctor's face. "I know in my heart that it won't .... but sometimes I'm still frightened that I'll lose all this, that it'll disappear in a moment and I'll be left alone."

The Doctor sat up, removing Ianto's hands from his head, gently breaking the mental bond between the two of them. One thin hand moved to rest against Ianto's cheek, the Doctor's other hand twining through Ianto's dark hair.

"My feelings for you will never change, my love," he said, his intent gaze fixated on Ianto's face. "I promise you that, Ianto. You have my hearts, my soul, for now and for eternity. I can only mate once, you know. I've waited this long, until this life, to find my mate -- the one I was meant to be with. It's taken me this long to find you. I promised you when we first came together that I would never forsake you. That promise will never break."

Ianto reached for the hand in his hair, twining his own slender fingers with the Doctor's. "And I promise to remember those words, and to never forsake them, in this life or in any other," he whispered, not caring that his emotions -- and his tears -- were hovering very near to the surface again.

The Doctor nodded, leaning forward to brush his lips against Ianto's, slipping his arms around the young man's waist and settling into his lap, his cheek pressed against Ianto's chest. "A promise isn't always easily kept, my love. But rest assured that these will be."

Ianto stroked the Time Lord's hair, feeling all the love in his heart well up and struggle to break free, wishing that he knew of some way to express his feelings in words. Somehow, "I love you" didn't seem to be nearly enough.

"It's enough, Ianto," the Doctor whispered, his eyes starting to close again. "It's more than enough, love. I don't need to hear it. I can feel it."

"Then it's enough for me, too," the young man murmured, pressing another kiss against his love's hair, shifting his position on the couch. "And I think that I need to carry you off to bed, before we both end up sleeping on the couch tonight."

"I think I can promise you that sleeping on the couch won't be such a bad idea, either," the Doctor said, his voice already sounding thick with sleep.

"And I can promise you that the bed will be much more comfortable," Ianto laughed, tightening his hold on the man in his arms. The man he loved more than life, the man who he would give his entire heart and soul to, every fiber of his being. The other half of himself. The better half.

So saying, he maneuvered to his feet, holding the Doctor securely in his arms and making his way down the hall to their bedroom.

Somehow, he had a feeling those weren't the last promises that would be made tonight.

***